Crying Lightning
by DE92
Summary: "I should have helped her. I should have done something. I deserve this. I deserve to die" - Damon is an 18 year old troubled lost soul with a bad reputation and Elena a 17 year old popular high school student who thought she had everything she ever wanted, that is until she got to know the eldest Salvatore and realizes that life is about more than being crowned Prom Queen! AU R
1. Chapter 1

**Crying Lightning **

**This is an idea that has been in my head for a little while now and I hope you like it. This is my first Vampire Diaries fic, usually I stick to one tree hill but I've fallen in love with this show and mostly Delena/Damon Salvatore and have been wanting to be brave enough to write something on this show for a while!**

**This chapter is an introduction to the story, and I will be showing flashbacks to show what happened to lead up to this, although the next chapter does skip a little into the future.**

**All the characters in this story are human, vampires, witches, werewolves etc don't exist I'm afraid!**

* * *

My eyes flutter open slowly and the first thing that I notice is this undeniable pain all over my body as I struggle to take in my surroundings and what is happening to me.

I groan and finally pry my eyes open and look up to the dark sky, the stars shining down on me watching as I struggle to breath.

What is happening to me? Where am I?

I cough and feel blood splutter from my mouth and suddenly that's when everything comes back and hits me just as hard as the bullet wound in my stomach.

Katherine.

I cry out in pain as I struggle to sit up, coughing up more blood as I attempt to stand up.

"Katherine" I attempt to shout, hoping she can hear me but my voice isn't working.

"Katherine!" I pull myself to my feet, clutching my stomach in agony as the blood from the wound slips between my fingers but I don't care. I just need to find her.

"KATHERINE!" I feel the tears roll down my cheeks as I stumble across the gravelled path as quickly as I can in agony. "KATHERINE!"

A sob falls from my lips as I stumble forward towards a silhouette of a body in the distance.

"No" I gasp after what feels like an eternity to reach her "Katherine, no!"

I fall to my knees and let out another hysterical cry and it's almost like I'm having an outer body experience. This is not me. This can't be happening.

I turn her body over and look down at her beautiful face, trying to ignore the mass amount of blood covering her body as her eyes flutter open an look up at me as I hold her head in my lap, my arms wrapped around her cold body.

She's alive.

"Damon?" she grumbles out and I hear the pain in her voice and it kills me.

"Yes Katherine, it's me. It's ok baby, everything is going to be ok. You're going to be ok!" I try and tell her reassuringly but my voice is shaky and I can still feel the tears running down my cheeks and no matter how hard I try I can barely ignore the pain that is spreading throughout my whole body.

"I'm going to get help, ok? We're going to be ok!" I stumble on my words as I frantically feel around my blood stained pockets and growl in frustration when I can't find my cellphone. "Fuck!"

"I'm sorry" Katherine whispers "This is all my fault"

"No Katherine, this isn't your fault ok?" I hush her, stroking her dark brown hair from her eyes "We'll be fine"

"No Damon" Katherine shakes her head and I'm surprised to see a tear fall from her eyes, she's always so strong and held together. I've never seen her cry before. "You don't understand, I-" she coughs, struggling to get her words out and I notice her voice fading with tiredness "Klaus, he…"

"Don't say his name Katherine, don't waste your energy on _him_" I spit out in venom, removing one of my hands from Katherine to clutch my own stomach as the pain starts to get harder and harder to ignore.

But I need to stay strong. I need to stay strong for Katherine.

Katherine again shakes her head and more tears fall from her cheeks and this time I'm shocked as a sob actually falls from her beautiful lips.

"I loved him Damon. I still love him and I'm sorry. It's Klaus, Damon, it's always going to be Klaus"

I look down at her completely stunned, not sure that those words actually came from her mouth or if I'm just in so much agony I'm starting to hallucinate.

This isn't happening.

"Damon" she whispers my name in a cry and suddenly I feel like I can't breathe and I know it has nothing to do with the bullet lodged inside of me. "I'm so sorry" her voice sounds weak but I barely register it as my hand automatically removes itself from her face. "I need help, please Damon, help me"

I shake my head frantically, more tears falling from my eyes as I fall backwards so she's no longer in my arms. I cry out in pain as the movement hurts my _entire_ body and I struggle to breathe as black spots start to appear in front of my vision.

"Please Damon, please save me. I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry"

My world is ending. This is it, I can _feel_ it. Nothing will ever be the same again and it's all her fault.

No.

It's Klaus, this is all down to Klaus.

I'm going to die. Katherine is going to die and it's all because of _him_.

People warned me about this. They warned me. They told me to never trust Katherine Pierce, that she was manipulative, selfish and conniving and that no matter what I did, she would never change. She would never love me as much as I love her.

"You used me" I whisper, my voice full of pain as I struggle to comprehend everything that has happened to me over the last 12 months. "It was a lie, it was all a lie…"

"No" Katherine shakes her head as another cough escapes her lips "Please Damon, I care about you, but please, please get help. I'm dying, Damon, I can feel it and so can you, you're bleeding Damon, you need _help_ and I can't move, Damon, please"

I can't register what she is saying as more black dots cover my vision.

"You never loved me" The words fall from my lips in realisation and when I look back over at Katherine her eyes are closed.

No.

"Katherine!"

I crawl back towards her body, tapping her face gently to try and bring her back to me. To try and understand why this is happening, why she _used_ me when she loved Klaus all along.

This doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense.

"Wake up, wake up!" I sob as I hit her face a little harder but her body doesn't react. I shake my head furiously before looking down at my own blood stained body. "I'm sorry Katherine. I love you, please, _please_, wake up!"

I should have helped her. I should have done something.

I deserve this.

I deserve to die.

And then everything goes black.

* * *

**Hope you liked it **** let me know if you would like me to continue! I know there was no Elena in this intro but the next chapter will be in her POV so don't worry! **

**Thanks again for reading and be great if you have time to drop a review to let me know what you thought **


	2. Chapter 2

**Crying Lightning**

**Hello! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, meant a lot to see your thoughts and your feedback is important to me with how I develop this story! I hope you all enjoy this chapter too.**

**Also, someone asked about Katherine and Elena, they aren't related in any way, they look similar but not in any kind of supernatural obvious way, just that they both have the same color hair and eyes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**This chapter is in Elena's POV, enjoy! :)**

* * *

I groan tiredly as the alarm beside my bed goes off, pulling my from my dreamless sleep long before I was ready.

I strain open my eyes and I sigh in frustration when I look how early it is.

It should be illegal to wake up before 9am when school is out but alas, I have commitments, or at least Caroline has commitments and she makes sure that we all have to follow them.

I'm glad that it is the last day of cheer camp, I don't think I could take another day of these early morning workouts and ridiculously cheesy practised routines.

I force myself out of bed and walk over to my mirror, smiling down at the photo that was taken just a mere few months before their death, of my 11 year old self in my cheer uniform with my parents, I gently run my finger over us, knowing that it was always my mother's dream to see me in the same cheering squad she was a part of when she was my age in Mystic Falls High School.

I just wish she were here to see it.

My eyes glance to the next photo along and my smile widens when I see a photo of my boyfriend Stefan Salvatore.

Stefan and his family moved back to Mystic Falls right before freshman year started, we met on the first day and became instant friends. I was dating Matt Donovan at the time, and although I always found Stefan attractive, I didn't break up with Matt because of him, Matt and I had our own reasons and thankfully we managed to stay friends when we did split at the beginning of sophomore year. If anything, he is my closest friend besides Bonnie and Caroline. It wasn't until the end of that sophomore year when Stefan and I decided to take our relationship further than friendship.

I realise that I'm dawdling and force myself to get in the shower. The quicker I get dressed and head down to the High School for cheer practise, the quicker I get to see Stefan.

I've missed him.

He has spent the last three weeks away from Mystic Falls, he said he was just visiting family out of state because it was summer vacation but I know it has more to do with his older brother Damon and what went down right here in Mystic Falls six months ago.

I don't know the details, believe it or not, dating the younger Salvatore doesn't give me inside information on what happened, despite how much Caroline and the rest of the cheer girls like to believe.

Stefan very rarely speaks of his family, especially his brother.

All I know is what everyone else in this town knows, Damon was in a gang all through High School, and towards the end of his senior year, he and his girlfriend Katherine were shot in what has said to be a gang war just outside of town.

Unfortunately Katherine was killed in the incident but no one really knows who by or why it happened, or why Katherine was even there.

There has been gossip that it was Damon himself who shot her, because he was arrested on the day of Katherine's funeral, but nobody knows why and all I know from Stefan is that whatever charge they had arrested him on, he was released 24 hours later on probation by their father, who, as one of the leading members of the founding council of Mystic Falls, has a _lot_ of influence and say over this town. Damon disappeared right after that, Stefan said he went to live with their grandparents in Chicago. I don't even think he got to finish his senior year.

I do have to wonder though, how Damon's entire gang found themselves arrested and locked up that day, with the exception of Damon and Tyler Lockwood. Rumour has it that because Tyler is the Mayors son, they were very lenient on him and just like Damon, he was realised from prison on probation.

Their rival gang was the same, most of the boys were arrested for being involved in the shooting bar the Mikelson brothers, Klaus and Kol, and again the reason seems to be of how much power and money that family also has. There is also another rumour that it was Klaus who killed Katherine, especially since no one had seen him since, just like Damon, he had left town. But it's all just rumours, no one really knows what actually happened that fateful night.

I don't think I care very much about knowing what happened though to be honest, despite him being my boyfriend's brother, I never really spoke to Damon Salvatore, he was always just that boy in the grade above us in High School who just so happened to be Stefan's brother, and part of one of the fierce big gangs in Mystic Falls. I never agreed with the gang stuff, I never understand why two sets of teenage boys all hated each other, despite all growing up in the same town and the same school together.

I'm just relieved that Stefan, Matt and my brother Jeremy never got involved in it all and never picked a side between the two rival gangs, because if they had, it could also be them in prison right now, or worse, dead.

* * *

"You're late" Caroline scolds me as I jump out of my car and quickly jog across the field to where my best friend and the rest of the cheer girls are waiting for me.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry" I tell her apologetically as I throw my gym bag on the ground and take my usual position.

"Senior year starts in three weeks Elena, three weeks! We need to be ready, this is _our_ year girls!"

I suppress the urge to roll my eyes and glance over at my other best friend Bonnie who is trying to hide her smirk. I think she cares about this just as much as I do.

Once Caroline begins our warm-up routines, Bonnie moves to come stand beside me and grins "I bet you're looking forward to seeing Stefan later"

"Very!" I grin and nod my head furiously "I've missed him"

"Caroline is kind of right you know Elena" Bonnie tells me with a smile "This is our year, this is _your_ year. Yours and Stefan, everything is there for the taking, Prom King and Queen, Miss Mystic Falls. He's one of the stars of the football team and you're a cheerleader, both of you are popular, this is stuff junior high girls dream of!"

"I know Bon" I grin "I just hope I can do it, I know that my Mom won Miss Mystic Falls two years running, and since I didn't win last year, I feel like this is my time. Her and my Dad were also Prom King and Queen their senior year and I want nothing more than to follow in their footsteps and make them proud" I tell her determinedly.

"Only if you want this Elena" Bonnie tells me seriously with a pointedly look. "Only if this is what you want"

"It is" I tell her with a convincing nod "This is my year, I can _feel_ it"

* * *

"Stefan!" I smile widely as I fling open my front door and leap into my boyfriend's arms "God I have missed you!"

I pull back to kiss him and can feel him smile into the kiss before pulling away "I've missed you too Elena" he pecks my forehead before I pull him inside.

"How was your trip? Did you spend time with your family? See everyone you wanted to see? Do you want to stay for dinner? Aunt Jenna is cooking meatloaf; I know it's your favourite"

"Elena" Stefan laughs while shaking his head "One question at a time!"

"Sorry" I smile shyly "I've just missed you, it's been boring here without you" I pout.

"Caroline not been cracking the whip at summer cheer camp?" he asks amused as he follows me towards the kitchen.

"It's Caroline, of course she was" I laugh a little as we walk into the kitchen where my Aunt Jenna is cooking while her boyfriend Alaric, who also happens to by my History teacher, is sitting at the counter reading the paper.

"Stefan!" Jenna beams at my boyfriend and walks round to give him a hug "Thank god you're home, this one has been sulking and pouting while you've been gone!" she smirks and I send her a glare for revealing that information. I don't want to look like a pathetic clingy girlfriend. "Are you staying for dinner? I'm making meatloaf, Elena said it was your favourite"

"Actually…" Stefan begins looking guiltily over at me "I can't actually stay, I have to go back home. Family stuff"

I raise my eyebrow at him before pulling him out of the kitchen into the hallway "You've just got back, I haven't even seen you for 10 minutes" I frown.

"I know and I'm sorry" Stefan sighs while running his fingers through his hair "But my Dad needs me home this afternoon, it's important and I told him I wouldn't be long. I'm sorry Elena"

I pout a little and look down at my shoes before Stefan places his finger under my chin and lifts my head back up to face him "Why don't you come over tonight after dinner? You can stay the night" he smiles shyly and I sigh before slowly nodding my head.

"Fine" I sulk a little "But I'm still not happy with you Stefan"

"I know" Stefan says as his smile turns into a smirk "But I'll make it up to later, I promise"

"You better"

* * *

I sigh loudly and lift up my side of the covers in frustration as I try to ignore the sound of Stefan's loud snoring beside me.

Does it need to be so freaking loud?

Despite it being the end of the summer, it's too hot and I can't sleep. I glance over at the digital clock on Stefan's beside table and see that it's barely 3:30am.

Why do I have to be awake?

I climb out of bed and decide to go and get a glass of water, hoping the cold liquid will cool me down and then in turn help me sleep.

I creep out of Stefan's bedroom, careful to be quiet so I don't wake him and creep down the old hallway, trying to ignore how the boarding house always freaks me out a little at night.

It's _so_ creepy.

I slowly climb down the stairs, hoping I don't run into anyone, especially Stefan's dad, he would so _not_ be happy to find me here in short shorts and a tank top in the middle of the night.

I smile a little in satisfaction as I reach the bottom step of the stairs without them making the usual loud creaking sounds they tend to do and head towards the kitchen, making sure I walk carefully so I don't stumble into anything and most importantly not to knock over one of the many antiques the Salvatore's hold here, Giuseppe would _kill_ me.

I open the kitchen door and make sure it closes silently behind me before turning on the light, I turn around to walk towards the sink but a boy sitting at the breakfast bar makes me jump and then scream.

"Oh my god" I pant clutching my chest, still scared from the fright he gave me.

It's Stefan's brother, and he is sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar looking straight at my and suddenly I gulp a little in fear and this has nothing to do with my thinking that I would be alone down here.

"You scared me" I mumble awkwardly and suddenly I'm very aware and very conscious of the clothes, or lack of, that I'm currently wearing.

"I live here" Damon replies in that usual dark deep tone that he always uses. Not that we have spoken a lot, because we certainly haven't, I don't think Damon likes to talk, not that I'd know anyway since I've never even officially met him as Stefan's girlfriend.

In fact, I'm a little surprised to find him here; Stefan never mentioned he was back and no one thought he would ever return to Mystic Falls after everything that happened.

"Sorry" Suddenly I feel like I'm being scolded by an adult and I gulp nervously as I quickly walk towards the sink and run the tap, the noise of the water breaking some of the tension that is quickly filling this room "I just needed to get a glass of water" I explain before realising how obvious that is as I reach for a glass.

Damon doesn't say anything and the only noise in the large kitchen is the sound of the running tap and I hurriedly continue to put my hand over it, almost begging the water to hurry up and get colder so I can get out of here and back to the sanctuary that is Stefan's bedroom.

Even though I have my back to him, I can _feel_ Damon's eyes on me and I self-consciously pull down on my tank top, hoping I don't have even more skin on display than necessary.

"Do I make you nervous?" His deep voice breaks the silence and I freeze, unsure how to answer this.

"No" I answer and curse how shaky my voice just sounded "Of course not"

"Then why do you look like you can barely wait a second before running out of here, Elena"

He knows my name, or at least he remembers my name, and I have no idea why that thought makes my heart beat twice as fast as normal.

"I'm just tired, it's late" I try to explain before finally turning around to face him and I have to try and stifle as gasp as I notice he is now standing at the other end of the counter, the side next to me, looking straight at me just a few feet away.

His eyes are _so_ blue.

He continues to stare at me, not saying a word and again I can feel my heart rate increasing.

What is he doing?

"Um" I awkwardly let out a cough and cringe slightly at my lack of _coolness_ in this situation. He must think I'm such a loser. "What are you doing up anyway?"

Damon shrugs and he finally breaks his stare before walking past me to the cupboard and pulling out an empty glass "Same as you" he tells me simply "I wanted a glass of water"

Somehow, I know he is lying.

"Speaking of" Damon nods his head towards the sink behind me "I think that water will be cold now"

"Right!" I break out of my little trance and nervously fill up the glass, cursing at my shaking hands and turning the tap off. I turn around when I realise that if Damon were telling the truth I should have probably left the tap running for him but when I look up he is back to his stool at the other side of the counter, his empty glass still where he left it by the sink untouched and empty.

He looks up at me and I've never seen someone look so intense "Goodnight Elena" he tells me looking directly at my eyes without breaking his stare, causing my to gulp nervously and I realise that he wants me to leave and for some reason that disappoints me a little.

"Oh" I mumble awkwardly and head towards the door "Goodnight Damon"

It's not until I'm back upstairs in the safety of my boyfriend's bedroom when I realise that I never once thought about how much I assumed I didn't like him when I was in his company. Everything that happened last year with his gang and his bad boy reputation never even crossed my mind.

* * *

**Ok so there it is, I know there wasn't much dialogue in this chapter, but it was mainly an introduction to Elena's life as well as revealing a little about what happened with the Damon/Katherine shooting, or at least what outsiders think may have happened and their version of the aftermath of that.**

**The story starts to get going from the next chapter onwards! **

**I hope you liked it, please review it would mean a lot :) **

**Thanks all! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**This chapter is going to go between Elena's and Damon's POV.**

**Also, just want to explain where everyone is at in terms of age in this story:**

**Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Matt, Bonnie, Tyler, and Kol are all now seniors. **

**Rebekah, Jeremy and Vicki are juniors. **

**Damon, Klaus and Katherine were all seniors the year before.**

**I hope that clears a few things up! **

* * *

I glare at my father as he continues to lecture me about my behavior and that this year I have to behave and pretty much do everything he says.

I think he can go to hell.

"I don't want any arguments on me on this Damon!" he glares at me furiously as he paces up and down his office, a glass of bourbon in his hand while I slump further back into my chair. "Do you have any _idea_ how much it cost me to bail you out last spring? And then you repay me by running off all summer, I had the sheriff riding my ass asking why you broke your bail conditions within _days_ of being released! You are so God damn lucky this town listens to me and that I managed to convince them that you decided it would be best to live with your Grandparents in Chicago to stay out of trouble! I committed fraud for you, Damon, while you were running round the country chasing shadows, the least you owe me is to God damn to as I say!"

I roll my eyes and let out a huff "What do you want me to say, Giuseppe? That I'm sorry?" I look at him in astonishment "Because I sure as hell am not! The only thing I am sorry for is telling Stefan where I was, I knew I shouldn't have trusted him and now here I am back in this freaking hell hole of a town back where I started! I don't _want_ to be here, never mind go back to fucking high school!"

"You ungrateful son of a bitch!" Giuseppe discards his glass and launches towards me, picking me up from my chair by the collar and pushing me against the wall.

"Ohh" I chuckle bitterly "You going to hit me again? Is this what we are going back to?" I question "Domestic violence, ohh I _like_ it. Maybe I should call Childline?" I smirk.

He looks at me furiously, his breaths coming out fast and ragged as he struggles to control his temper.

"Go on _Dad_, hit me" I goad him but it does nothing as he takes a step back and composes himself. I let out another bitter laugh and readjust my messed up t-shirt.

"I'm giving you this one last chance Damon, you do as I say or you go to prison, it _is_ that simple" he tells angrily "Now get the hell out of my office!"

I send him one last glare before doing what he says and leaving the room, just in time to see Stefan making a quick turn around the corner of the hall and I roll my eyes realising he had been listening in on our entire conversation.

"Oh brother!" I call after him, following him down the hall "Don't run away from me Stef!"

He stops as we reach the lounge before turning around to face me, looking a little guilty. "What do you want Damon?"

"What do I want? Hmm" I tap my finger on my chin in mocking "Let's see, I want to _not_ be here! I never wanted to be found, _brother_! Thank you for that, b-t-w, that means by the way"

"I was worried about you!" he defends himself immediately "I nearly lost you once, Damon, I didn't want it to happen again! Every day that you were gone chasing after Klaus you were risking your life!"

I shake my head with a bitter laugh "And you think I am better off _here_? In Mystic Falls? I'm not scared of Klaus!"

"Well you should be! He shot you, Damon, he _shot_ you!"

"I know fine well what he did to me!" I hiss furiously, raising my voice a little and I watch as Stefan takes a step backwards a little in fear "You do _not_ need to remind me! Now you listen here little brother, and you listen carefully" I take a step forward "You stay the hell out of my business. You did it before, you can do it again. I do not need saving, I am not a child! We lived very separate lives here before and everything that happened six months ago does not change that! You get on with your life, and I'll get on with mine!"

"Oh and how are supposed to do that now, Damon?" Stefan glares at me "You're going back to school remember, we're going to be in the same class!"

I shake my head in frustration "And whose fault is that?! You think I asked for this? You think I want to go back _there_? Because I sure as hell don't, but I don't really have a freaking choice thanks to you and Giuseppe!"

"You know what, Damon" Stefan replies angrily "You should be more grateful to Dad, you have no idea the things he risked to save you! To stop you from going to prison and keeping you from going when you decided to break your probation conditions! To bring you back here, to convince the Principle to let you retake your senior year! This is your second chance, don't waste it!"

I shake my head bitterly "He didn't do any of those things for _me_, little brother! He did it for himself! When are you going to realise that that man isn't anything but a monster?"

"The only monster I see around her, _brother_, is you!" he spits viciously at me before turning around and walking up the stairs without looking back.

Well I never, I think my baby brother has finally grown a back bone.

And _that's_ what I try to take from his parting sentence rather than the words itself.

* * *

"Jeremy! Jeremy! Hurry up, seriously I need to use the bathroom!" I bang on our shared bathroom door in frustration, wondering why a 16 year old boy takes so long in the bathroom.

Today is my first day of senior year and I can't help but feel excited as to what is to come. This is the year that I have been waiting for, my entire school life I have dreamed to be in my senior year, with the perfect football player boyfriend and two of the greatest best friends anyone could ever ask for.

My phone vibrates on my desk and I walk over and pick it up to find a text from Caroline.

**Senior year starts now baby!  
We are going to rule Mystic Falls High xx **

I smile and shake my head, knowing that Caroline is even more excited about this year than I am.

I send a quick reply just as I hear Jeremy shout that the bathroom is now free, thank god! I do not want to go into my first day as a senior looking a mess.

Impressions mean a lot in town, one wrong move and it can really go against you, I guess that is the problem living in such a small town like Mystic Falls, everybody knows everybody, meaning that they know everybody's business and most importantly, everybody's mistakes.

If I want to be crowned Miss Mystic Falls this year I need to make sure I look my best at all times and that I'm always on my game, no matter what.

I finally get dressed and do my make-up to perfection and sigh in annoyance when I see a text from Stefan say his Dad is giving him a ride to school so he can't pick me up, I guess I'll have to take my car then. I bang on my brothers door and ask if he wants a ride but when he doesn't answer I assume he has already left.

The drive to school isn't a long one, and when I park in my usual spot I realise that I'm starting to feel more nervous than excited.

"This is your time Elena" I mumble to myself before checking myself in the mirror one more time before getting out of the car.

As I walk towards the building I notice that a lot of people are staring towards one direction, I turn to wonder what they are all looking at and I'm surprised to see that it's my boyfriend.

But not just my boyfriend, it's my boyfriend with his father and his _brother_. That same brother who has been one of the main topics of gossip in this town for the last four years that the Salvatore's moved back here, especially over the last six months.

What is he doing here?

I haven't seen him since that night in his kitchen two weeks ago, I asked Stefan about why he was back and if he was staying around but my boyfriend's answer was very vague and he quickly changed the subject, only sparking my curiosity even further.

As I approach closer to the trio, I began to hear the sound of Giuseppe's deep commanding voice.

Not going to lie, that man scares me a little.

"I mean it, Damon! You stay out of trouble, you hear me?"

"I don't even want to be here!" Damon argues back, his hood pulled up over his head as he tucks his hands deep into his hoody's pocket. Stefan standing nervously beside them, shifting his weight between his feet, very aware of half of the school's eyes on them and I can't help but feel a little bad for my boyfriend, his senior year is just as important to him as it is to me, he doesn't need any kind of negative attention if he wants to be scouted for college.

"I don't _care_ what you want boy!" Giuseppe hisses at him coldly "You attend every single class, you sit, you take notes, you don't give _anyone_ any grief and that includes the teachers! You stay in school grounds over lunch and then at 3pm you come straight home!"

Damon rolls his eyes before muttering something that I can't hear from where I'm discreetly standing close by and starts to walk quickly towards the school's entrance.

"Damon!" Giuseppe looks furious at his son for walking away and quickly storms after him "For god sakes take your hood down, you are not a yob!" I hear as they walk away, Stefan goes to follow but then notices me instead; he forces a smile and walks towards me.

"Hey" he leans down and pecks my lips quickly.

"Hi!" I smile back and quickly glance over in the direction his Dad and brother just went off too.

"You saw that huh?" I turn back to look at Stefan and notice the slight cringe on his face "My first day back has gone to a great start" he laughs bitterly.

"What's Damon doing here?" I ask confused. "Is he coming back to school?"

"Unfortunately for me, yes he is. My Dad thinks it will be good for him to come and repeat his senior year since he barely turned up last year and ran off chas- to Chicago...before he could finish"

"I'm surprised he's allowed back" I say honestly, knowing that our principle and the majority of the teachers didn't like any of those boys involved in gangs, I only know this from witnessing it first hand through all the classes I share with Tyler Lockwood and Kol Mikaelson.

"My father can be quite convincing, he also happens to have a very large cheque book" he smiles meekly before taking my hand leading me towards the school in the direction of our lockers. "_Anyway_, enough about my brother. How are you feeling? I know you've been looking forward to your senior year since you were a little girl"

"I'm nervous, excited…but nervous" I answer honestly as we walk through the building crowds, a certain buzz is in the air around the place what with the new freshman's and the excited seniors.

"Don't be, this is your year Elena! Enjoy it"

* * *

"Mr Salvatore!"

I turn around and smirk when I notice the _one_ teacher in this god forsaken place that I actually _like_, well, just a little bit, he is still a teacher after all!

"Alaric" I grin.

"Mr Saltzman to you, Damon" He shakes his head in a scolding way while trying to hide his smile "Good to know you haven't changed" he glances around a little before turning back to me "You been sent to the Principal's office already? First class of the day hasn't even started yet Salvatore, surely that's a record?"

I roll my eyes slightly "My father is in there, discussing my _future_"

"You know you should be a little more grateful, Damon" he tells me seriously and I frown in annoyance that he is the second person to tell me this. "Not a lot of people want you back here"

"Yeah well the feeling is mutual" I mutter in annoyance "But unfortunately for me, my father owns my life for the next year and I don't really have a choice but to listen to him and do what he says"

"Look" Alaric sighs and places his hand on my shoulder "I know last year was tough, what with everything that…_happened_" I cringe slightly and look down as my History teacher continues "But this is a chance to change your life Damon, to get out of all that stupid gang stuff and to turn your life around. Have you thought about going to college? I know you didn't apply last year but I think you should, if you concentrate on your work I know that you have the potential, you're a smart kid and I happen to know first-hand how good you are at History, I also know that you're grades in English Literature weren't that bad either. You should really think about it Damon"

"No" I shake my head, stepping backwards so Alaric is forced to move his hand from my shoulder "College is Stefan's thing, not mine"

Mr Saltzman is about to reply but the door behind me opens and my father walks out, followed by the principal.

"Mr Salvatore, good to see you again" Alaric holds out his hand to Giuseppe, very much aware of the influence he has in this town, over _anyone_, especially this school.

"Mr Saltzman" he barely acknowledges the only teacher in this place that actually should have his respect but shakes his hand anyway before turning back to me. Ass. I think Alaric takes the hint and excuses himself before leaving and I sigh and turn to face by father and my Principal who does not look very happy to see me.

Oh boy, this is going to be a _long_ year.

* * *

I take my usual seat next to Stefan in Biology, waving with a smile at Bonnie as she walks in not long after and takes her normal seat to my other side.

I'm about to start a conversation with my best friend when Kol stands in front of my boyfriend's desk to my right.

Oh no.

"Hey Salvatore" he starts with a glare "What's this I'm hearing about your brother repeating his senior year here?"

"Go away Kol" Stefan glares back, not in the mood to discuss his brother with anyone, especially not a Mikaelson.

"Not until I know why Damon is back here in Mystic Falls, never mind here in school!" He slams his fist against Stefan's desk causing the rest of the class to look in our direction.

"It's none of your damn business!" Stefan stands up.

"Stefan…" I warn cautiously, the last thing that he needs is to get into a fight on his first day, this is not like him. He never gets involved in this stuff.

"Damn right it's my business!" Kol walks around the desk so him and my boyfriend are standing face to face.

"Just back off Kol!" I stand up in attempt to stop this situation from escalating.

Kol doesn't even turn to face me as he spits his next words out "Shut the fuck up Elena!"

That's all it takes for my boyfriend to lose his temper and before I know it he pushes Kol so hard he falls back into my desk, I jump out of the way quickly as to not get hit as Kol falls straight to the ground.

"What is all the commotion about?!" Mr Stevenson chooses this very moment to enter the classroom and looks angry that a fight has broken out already on the first class of the first day of school, as he pushes his way through the small crowd of students he looks surprised to see that it's Stefan who is involved.

"Principal's office, the pair of you, now!" he commands and Stefan looks at my guiltily before quickly leaving the room, Kol following closely behind.

I sigh and take my seat again after pushing my desk back to its rightful position.

This is not the start to the year that I had wanted.

* * *

"Well, well, well, the rumours are true! Damon Salvatore back in Mystic Falls!"

I sigh and close my locker door, knowing that I'm late for my first class already and this is the last thing I need. I turn around to face the culprit with a very fake sarcastic smile on my face.

"Vicki Donovan, so _nice_ to see you again"

Vicki glares at me as she takes a step closer "Seriously Damon, what are you doing here?"

"Um, going to class. That is what people do in high schools, right?" I roll my eyes and start walking, Vicki making sure to match my footsteps alongside me.

"You know what I mean, Damon, you shouldn't be back here! Just because Klaus has gone doesn't mean it's all over, Kol is still here and so are his…friends"

"So?" I scoff, a little insulted that she thinks that the youngest of the Mikaelson brother's even remotely affects me.

"So…it's different here now, you boys don't have the advantage anymore in this place, you guys don't run things around here anymore! People don't even care that much, or at least they pretend not too after everything that happened with Katherine and-"

"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" I hurl around to face her, my voice dripping with venom and she actually looks a little scared.

"Damon-"

"Shut _up_, just shut the fuck up and mind your own fucking business! I don't care what _you_ think, I never have and I _never_ will, I only put up with you before because you happened to be my ex-girlfriends lapdog-"

"I was her best friend!" she interrupts me angrily.

"I. Don't. Care" I hiss the words out furiously as I step even closer to her so I tower over her "Now leave me the hell alone and do not talk to me again! I mean it"

With that I turn around and storm away, heading to my first class which I am already late for.

I swing open the door to the classroom noisily, unintentionally stopping the entire class and bringing all the attention onto me. Something I did not want to happen.

Can this day get any better?

"Ah, Damon Salvatore"

Apparently it can.

"Mr Stevenson" I glare at my old Biology teacher, knowing that he hated me on those rare times I did show up to school last year. "Always a pleasure" I send him a mocking smirk before walking towards the back of the classroom and taking a seat.

Mr Stevenson glares at me but knows better than to start anything and he soon continues where he left off.

I sigh and rub my hand down my face in frustration, trying to ignore everything that that stupid moron Vicki Donovan just said to me.

"That's Stefan's seat" I hear a quiet but angry voice from beside me and I frown and turn my head to my side to see _Elena_ _Gilbert_ looking at me with a glare.

"_What?_" I hiss back at her in annoyance.

"Your brother, Stefan, that's his seat you're sitting in"

"Oh, sorry Stef, didn't see you there" I mutter sarcastically and roll my eyes before turning away from her.

So not in the mood to deal with her judgy little eyes right now.

"No that's because he's in the principal's office, well done Damon, first day back and you're already causing trouble!" she tries to keep her voice low to avoid getting into trouble, something else her and my brother seem to have in common then, both of them goody two shoes.

"What are you on about Gilbert?" I question in annoyance without turning back to face her.

"Stefan. He got in a fight with Kol Mikaelson over you"

"He did what?!" Now she has my attention. My voice was raised slightly and Mr Stevenson sends me a glare before continuing on whatever bullshit he was trying to sell to the class.

"He got in a fight. Which is totally not like him, nor does he need this! He has enough going on right now with football scholarships and college applications, he shouldn't have something like this on record because of you!" she whispers at me angrily.

"How the hell is this my fault?"

"Damon, Elena. Would you like to share with the class your discussion?" Mr Stevenson calls over at us with a glare.

I'm about to hit back with a smartass remark but Elena beats me too it.

"No Mr Stevenson, sorry" she tells him apologetically and gives him the best puppy dog eyes I have ever seen and makes that jackass of a teacher change his entire stance and sigh before going back to his topic.

Not going to lie, I'm a little impressed.

She ignores me for the rest of class and when the bell rings she sends me one last glare before practically running out of the room so I couldn't get a chance to ask her what went down with Stefan and Kol.

* * *

I think it is safe to say that by lunch time the entire school knows I am back here.

That also means I am number one on the hot topic gossip list and I fucking _hate_ it.

I don't even bother going to the cafeteria, knowing that the second I walk in there all the attention will be on me, walking through the hallways are bad enough with everyone and staring and whispering, I don't want to be a sitting target.

As I make my way through the quiet hallway, I make sure to avoid my old hang out spots on the rare occasions I did stick around in school. I also avoided the places where the Mikaelsons and their _friends_ hung out, not wanting to see any of their smug faces any time soon since I have done a very good job at avoiding all of them so far.

Even some of the old guys from my crew that are still here in Mystic Falls have not had the chance to speak to me yet, Tyler Lockwood happened to be in my second class of the day but I managed to keep my distance.

For once I don't want to be involved in any trouble.

I briefly spoke to Stefan between classes and he told me what happened, he wasn't happy, and just like his perfect preppy little girlfriend, he somehow managed to find a way to blame me, but whatever, the Principal decided to be lenient on him _and_ Kol because it was the first day and it was _unusual behaviour_ for Stefan and let them both off with a warning.

I guess Elena can stop stressing about her boyfriend's perfect reputation and college records being tarnished.

I finally reach my destination and take a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Come in!" I hear a voice call out and slowly open the door, before hovering awkwardly at the entrance.

So not like me.

"Damon?"

"Mr Saltzman" I nod my head a little and glance around unsure of what to say now that I'm here.

"What can I do for you?" Alaric removes his feet from where they were resting from his desk and sends me a reassuring smile that if from anyone else, would make me just turn around and leave the room.

"Um" I mumble awkwardly and glance back to the hallway where just a few students are scattered about "I'm trying to keep a low profile, I'm not exactly Mr Popular around here and I figured having lunch in the cafeteria probably isn't the best idea"

Mr Saltzman chuckles and shakes his head "No Damon" he smirks at me "Probably not. Take a seat kid" he motions to one of the desks and I close the door behind me before sitting down on the front row "You not got anything to eat?" he questions noticing that I'm empty handed.

I shake my head "Not hungry"

"What? A growing _strong_ kid like you needs his food to keep up his strength, that is what people say" he says in a slightly mocking tone and I laugh slightly and shake my head "Here" He stands up and walks around his desk handing a wrapped up sandwich "My girlfriend tends to go a little overboard when she makes my lunch, always gives me _way_ too much food" he says while handing it to me.

I inspect the sandwich amused "Your girlfriend gives you a packed lunch? What are you, nine?" I smirk and Alaric rolls his eyes.

"Just shut up and eat the sandwich kid"

* * *

I let out an annoyed sigh as I walk out the empty changing rooms still in my gym wear. Today has not gone to plan and I can't help but feel annoyed because of it. This was supposed to be the start of something _great_ and if my first day as a senior is anything to go by, it is going to be a disaster!

It didn't help that after school Caroline decided to hold an emergency cheerleading practice because apparently she wants us to win Nationals this year.

To be honest, winning a cheerleading competition is the least of problems right now.

I am about to walk over to my car when I remember I left my books back in my locker.

"Great" I mutter to myself under my breath. Can this day get any better?

I walk back into the empty school and make my way through the hallway quickly, just wanting to get the hell out of here and start again tomorrow.

I turn the corner and freeze when I see that I'm not the only one who is still in school an hour after finishing.

Damon Salvatore is stood silently still in the hallway.

What is he doing? He hasn't even noticed that he is no longer alone.

He's not even moving, he is just stood frozen staring at a locker.

It's not until I take a step closer when I realise who used to have that locker.

Katherine.

I gulp a little and look around, not sure on what to do. Should I approach him? Walk away? I have no idea.

I decide that I best make my presence known before he just sees me standing here like an idiot.

"Damon?"

He jumps. He literally jumps and swings around to face me, his blue eyes wider than I've ever seen as he looks at me in shock and my heart starts to pound a billion times faster.

I go to apologize for scaring him but before I can even say a word he throws his hood over his head and _literally_ runs away from me.

He actually turned around and _ran_.

What's a girl supposed to do about that?

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Please review and let me know what you thought, they always inspire me to write more :) **

**Thank you! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

_**November 2011**_

"You get the fireworks?" Tyler Lockwood asks me with a grin as I step out of my truck to where he and some of the other boys are standing outside the Mystic Grille with Rose.

"Of course" I smirk and motion to the back of my truck "All there" I say before turning to Rose "You get the booze?"

"No it was a bust" she shakes her head in annoyance "Trevor and I went after school but the fucking asshole at the store went to school with my big sister so he knew I was underage"

"Don't worry about it, just leave it to the expert" I smirk before walking through the doors of the Grille and straight over to the bar.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asks.

"Six cokes please" I tell him with a fake smile and watch as he nods his head, before turning around to make the drinks.

I quickly glance around the bar to make sure no one is watching before leaning over the bar and pulling over a bottle of vodka. I smirk and quickly hand it to Rose who is standing slightly behind me and she hurriedly pushes the bottle into her bag. I'm feeling cocky and I like to show off a little, no harm in that, so I reach over again and pull over a large bottle of tequila as well as a bottle of whisky.

"My favourite" Rose smirks eyeing the bottle of tequila bottle in admiration before quickly fitting both of the bottles into her bag and walking away to the booth that the rest of the guys have claimed.

The clueless bartender soon turns around with a tray of our drinks and I quickly _pay_ for these ones before picking up the tray. Just as I'm about to walk over to our table a voice near me stops me.

"Well I have to say, I'm impressed Salvatore"

I place the tray back on the bar and turn my head to the side to see the one and only Katherine Pierce sat staring at me with a smirk on her face.

"Katherine" I nod my head at her and smirk back. "Always a pleasure"

"Oh please, you always run away from me"

"I do not!" I immediately defend myself, and walk further along the side of the bar so I am now standing next to her. "Do you actually think I'm _scared_ of you?" I ask astonished.

"I think I make you nervous" she smirks before running her finger down my shirt. "Am I right?"

I gulp slightly before looking down at her finger and back at her big chocolate brown eyes "_Wrong_"

"Then why do you never talk to me, Damon?" she questions with mock hurt, her entire hand now flat against my chest.

"Maybe it has something to do with the choice of _filth_ you choose to spend your time with"

Katherine laughs. She actually laughs "Oh I like you Damon Salvatore. Even more so since Klaus despises the ground you walk on"

I shrug with a smirk, feeling quite proud of that.

"You scare him you know" she tells me seriously as she pulls me even closer "You make him nervous. His older brothers Elijah and Finn used to rule Mystic Falls, and then when it was Klaus' turn to follow in his brothers footsteps in comes this crazy arrogant jackass from out of town to ruin it all"

"Well, what can I say? I have _impeccable_ timing" I shrug with a smirk before removing her hands from my body, much to her surprise. "But I'll have you know, I was born in Mystic Falls, I moved when I was seven, so you can tell Klaus that this town does not belong to him. Now, if you'll excuse me Katherine, my friends and I have plans for this evening and I don't want to keep them waiting. It's the 5th of November and we like to play with fire"

"You're running away from me again Salvatore"

"Maybe" I shrug with a grin and go back to my tray of drinks before picking it up "Come and find me when you decide to find better taste in the company" I wink at her before turning and walking away.

_If only I knew then what I know now; I would never have given her the time of day. _

_Or at least that is what I try to tell myself. _

* * *

_**Present time**_

"God why is he so freaking _hot_" Caroline gushes as we sit outside at a picnic bench during our free period, taking advantage of the late September sunshine weather before autumn comes.

"What?" I look up from my book confused as to who Caroline is talking about. "Who?"

"The older Salvatore" Caroline nods her head motioning to across the quad where Damon is stood talking with Tyler. "I love a bad boy" she grins almost excitedly and I wonder what the hell she is planning.

I gulp slightly and look back down at my book trying to ignore all the thoughts running through my head.

I was unsure what to do after last weeks after school encounter with Damon when he quite literally ran away from me. I tried to talk to Stefan about it, but as soon as I brought up the subject of his older brother he didn't want to hear anything on the matter.

I also tried to approach Damon a few times, not that it worked, it seems that although we never really had any form of relationship or communication between us before, now it is like I don't even exist.

Like seriously, it's like I'm invisible.

We share a few classes and he always sits at the opposite end, never once glances in my direction. I've never seen him at lunch time either, it's like he can just make himself disappear.

Over the times I've spent at the Boarding House over the last week I've not seem him _once_.

I discreetly asked Stefan why Damon was never around, but he just said that it would be more unusual for Damon _to_ be at home, or at least any part of the house apart from his bedroom.

I don't know why I'm so bothered about this, it's not like Damon and I are even close to being acquaintances but a part of me really just wants to ask if he is okay. I saw the look on his face when he was at Katherine's locker, he looked a little upset but mostly he just looked _lost_.

It's in my nature to care about people, I can't help it. I just need to ask him _one time_ if he is ok and then I can just forget all about it.

I just wish he would let me.

"Elena!" Caroline's voice snaps me out of my thoughts "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes of course" I lie "Damon Salvatore, you think he is hot"

"Well yes, _duh_" Caroline rolls her eyes "But I'm gonna ask him out"

"Wait, what?!" I gasp at her in shock.

"I'm going to ask him out" Caroline repeats herself "He's hot, I'm hot, so why not be hot together?"

"Caroline I don't think that's a good idea…" I tell her honestly "This is Damon Salvatore…are you forgetting everything he has done in this town over the last four years? Especially what happened last April?"

Caroline waves me off and shrugs "Most of that was just rumours"

"They weren't all rumours Caroline!" I tell her seriously "Ok, he is dangerous! I mean…look what happened to the last girl he went out with-"

"Yes, look what happened to her"

I freeze and cringe recognising that ice cold voice immediately.

Fuck.

I slowly turn around and look up at Damon who is standing behind me not looking impressed, a nervous looking Tyler standing next to him.

I can't believe he overheard that.

"Damon I-" I feel so bad and immediately try and apologise but Damon just cuts me off.

"Caroline" he sends her a smirk and walks around the table to stand next to her "Tyler was just telling me that we all share Calculus together, I don't think I've formally introduced myself, I'm Damon Salvatore" he holds out his hand and I watch as Caroline's eyes widen in excitement.

"Caroline Forbes" she shakes it slowly, both reluctant to pull their hands away "Very nice to finally meet you"

"Likewise" Damon smirks at her before looking back at Tyler "Come on Lockwood, we got people to see" he motions at him, sending one last smile at Caroline, completely ignoring me, before walking away, Tyler following closely behind.

I groan and put my head in my hands.

"He is so much hotter close up! And his eyes are _so_ blue! He is gorgeous!" Caroline gushes and I move my hands from my face and look at her in annoyance which Caroline actually notices for once and offers me a reassuring smile "Don't worry about it Elena, he is probably used to overhearing people talking about him, I mean he is number one topic around this place"

"That does not make me feel better Care" I sigh and shake my head, the guilt starting to take over me. I can't believe he heard me say that!

What are the chances that the one time he comes anywhere near me over the last week he happens to overhear me gossiping and judging him, making me no different from the rest of the small minded people in this town!

* * *

"What was that about?" Tyler asks me as he follows me around to the back of the school.

"What?" I ask not really paying much attention.

"With Caroline? You like her?" he questions me and I notice that there is something in his voice I do not like.

I shrug "She's hot"

"She's not your usual type…I mean, she's a cheerleader for one, not to mention the reigning Miss Mystic Falls"

I stop and turn around to face him "You seem to know a lot about her Lockwood" I smirk at him and I watch as his eyes widen slightly.

"No, no" he stutters "We just share a lot of the same classes, that's all" he tries to convince me and I chuckle knowing that there is probably more to it.

But to be honest, I don't really care. Teen drama is the last thing I want to get involved in.

We both walk quickly around to the outside entrance of the girls changing room and I look around to make sure that there is no one else about.

"Are you sure she is in here?" I question Tyler.

"Yes. Every free period she uses the empty gymnasium to train, I think she is trying to become head cheerleader next year"

"Right" I roll my eyes not really caring about her reasons for being here just as long as she is here "And she's alone?"

"Usually" he nods.

"Great" I send him a mocking smile "Stay out here and make sure _no one_ comes in"

"Got it" Tyler nods his head in confirmation and I take one last look around before opening the changing room doors.

I walk through the small corridor that takes you to the main doors before slowly opening it. The changing room is empty but I look down at my watch and see that there is still time and notice that there is a coat hanging up on one of the racks and looking at the expensive leather I don't need three guesses to figure out who it belongs too.

I hear footsteps and I smirk, sitting up slightly as the door opens and in she walks, her cheeks flushed from her workout as she wipes her forehead with a towel.

It's not until she removes the towel from her face that she notices me.

"Damon" she gasps a little in shock and I slowly stand up with a smirk "What are you doing here? I'll scream!" she warns me taking a step back.

I chuckle and shake my head, walking around her and making sure that the door that leads to the gym is locked.

"Scream all you like Rebekah, there is no around to hear you unfortunately" I circle her a little before finally coming to a stop right in front of her.

"You shouldn't be here!" she tries to sound confident but her voice betrays her. She's scared.

Good.

"I can be wherever I want Barbie" I tip my head a little to the side "Now…I think you have information that I need"

"No" Rebekah shakes her head "I don't know anything"

"I don't believe you" I fire back immediately.

"When Kol finds out about this he will come after you Damon! He's stayed away from you so far but that is only because our father ordered him too, if he knew you were here right now he won't listen to anyone about what to do with you"

"Oh _please_!" I'm actually a little offended "You think I'm scared of your brother? Give me a break!" I scoff "I'll tell him myself if you'd like, I've needed an excuse to talk to that ass"

"Just leave Damon!" she shouts at me now and I chuckle and shake my head, the smile immediately falling from my lips as I take a step closer to her and grab her arm.

"Tell me where Klaus is"

"I don't know!" Rebekah tries to convince me and I can see the fear in her eyes. "I haven't spoken to him since he left town!"

"And like I said before, I don't believe you!"

"It's over Damon, why can't you just leave it alone? Klaus has _gone_ and he is not coming back!"

"It's not over! This is far from over!" I hiss at her furiously "It will be over when I find your brother, and I _kill_ him! An eye for an eye"

Rebekah shakes her head furiously, her eyes beginning to water "What happened that night, Damon, it wasn't his fault! It wasn't!"

"He _shot_ me! He shot me and he shot Ka-…_her_"

"No" Rebekah shakes her head "No, he may have shot you, but he didn't shoot Katherine, I swear, he _loved_ her Damon! He didn't kill her, he loved her! They loved each other!"

"SHUT UP!" I take a step back and run my hand through my hair frantically "God damn it Rebekah! Do not mention her name! Do not…_GOD_!" I punch the wall in frustration before pressing my forehead against it and hitting it over and over again against the tiled walls "Just shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Damon!" Rebekah tries to pull at my arm but I pull it furiously out of her grasp "Damon stop it! Stop!"

I hear the sound of Tyler's voice and before I know it I feel a pair of arms wrap around me and swing me away from the wall. I land on the floor with a thud, and I can feel the blood on my forehead but I don't feel the pain.

At least I don't feel it _there_.

I start panting and I can barely focus on anything.

"I think he is having a panic attack" I hear the sentence but I can't process the words or who it even came from.

My breathing is uneven and rushed and I can't catch my breath.

I can't _breathe_.

"Damon!" Tyler leans down in front of me "Calm down, ok? Just calm down" he tries to reassure me and I attempt to take deep breaths.

It works and slowly I start to see things clear again and I realise that I just let myself go crazy like that in front of Rebekah.

Fucking great.

She actually looks a little scared and worried when I look up at her, but before she says anything the door swings open and a girl I recognise as Stefan's friend walks in, looking at us confused and a little hesitant.

"What is going on here?" she asks nervously, glancing at sitting on the floor and probably wondering why there is blood all over my face.

This is the last thing I fucking need.

"Nothing Bonnie" Tyler attempts to appease the situation "Just a misunderstanding"

"A misunderstanding?" she questions not believing Tyler's feeble excuse for a second "What are you two even doing in here? This is the girls changing room!" she scolds before looking over at Rebekah who looks like she is about to cry and I watch as this Bonnie girls entire stance changes "What happened?" she asks in a hushed tone to the blonde cheerleader but I can still here "Are you ok? Do you want me to go get a teacher?"

"No" Rebekah shakes her head and snaps herself out of her little trance "No, just a little misunderstanding. Damon and Tyler were just leaving"

"Yes" Tyler nods his head furiously and I slowly stand up, trying to ignore the dizziness. "Let's go" he quickly scarpers from the room and I follow closely behind, not before sending Rebekah one last glance.

This is far from being over.

* * *

I'm sat on the bleachers outside by the football field waiting for the boys football practice to start with Stefan and Matt.

Matt is telling us a funny story about an awkward customer at the grille when I notice Bonnie walking quickly towards us.

I frown confused; it's not like her to stay behind after school to watch the boys train. "Hey Bon!" I call out with a smile as she gets closer.

"Hey" she sends a smile my way before turning all her attention to my boyfriend "Stefan I need to talk to you" she says with a serious tone and I frown confused.

"Um" Matt coughs awkwardly "I'm going to get a head start on practice" he mumbles before quickly jogging away.

"Now?" Stefan questions "Practice is just about to start Bonnie, can it wait?" he asks politely.

"I don't know Stef" she tells him honestly "I saw something today…" she starts and glances nervously at me.

"Whatever you have to say you can say it in front of Elena, we don't have secrets" Stefan smiles and I can't help but smile back at him.

"It's about your brother" I watch as my boyfriend immediately tenses up.

"Whatever you're going to say, I don't want to hear it" he tells her seriously "Damon and I have nothing to do with each other" he shoots her down "Sorry but I have to go, coach is waiting" and with that he takes off before Bonnie can say another word.

My friend turns to look at me confused and a little shocked at Stefan's words. I don't think she has ever heard him sound so cold.

"Yeah Stefan and his brother don't exactly get on" I try to explain in deference of my boyfriend's rude behavior "It's always a touchy subject, he never talks about him"

Bonnie nods her head slightly before taking a seat next to me on the bleachers. I guess she's staying to watch.

"So um" I start after a few minutes of silence, trying not to sound too curious "What was it you wanted to tell him?"

"I don't know if I should say" Bonnie says with a small cringe "If Stefan doesn't want to know maybe I should just keep my mouth closed and forget about it"

I frown wondering what it is she is talking about and hoping that she will decide to share this information.

"Ok, how about, you tell me what you were going to tell Stefan about Damon and I'll decide whether it's worth mentioning to Stefan or not?" I offer, hoping that she'll not find me to be too pushy and curious and that I'm just trying to be a good girlfriend.

Well wait, that is obviously _why_ I want to know what happened, to see if it will affect Stefan or not.

"Ok fine" Bonnie sighs and double checks to make sure that there is no one close enough to listen in. "I saw something today, something that looked pretty bad"

"With Damon?"

"Yes" Bonnie nods her head "I walked in to the girls changing room this afternoon and I did not like what I saw"

"What did you see?" My heart starts pounding a little in anticipation and I have no idea why I care so much.

"Ok well, Damon was there, with Rebekah and Tyler"

"Rebekah?" I ask shocked, knowing that she is Klaus' sister and these two being in the same room together can not be good.

"Exactly!" Bonnie confirms my surprise to the situation "Well, Damon was sat on the floor and he had blood _all_ over his face, I think it was coming from his head, and Tyler was there next to him and Rebekah looked _really_ shaken up and scared"

"Oh my god" I frown shocked "What do you think happened? You don't think he hurt her do you?"

"I don't know Elena" Bonnie sighs in aspiration "I mean, there was blood on the wall which I thought was weird but it looks like Damon was the only one who was hurt, Tyler looked completely fine and Rebekah just looked upset, not physically hurt" she explains "I tried to help her and asked her if I should go and get someone but she said everything was fine and then Damon and Tyler left, I was with Tyler last period and I asked him about it but he just shot me straight down"

"Damon and I share English Literature together, he wasn't there last period" I mumble, not really knowing why his absence even stood out to me at the time. "I wonder what happened" I muse curiously.

"So, do you think we should tell Stefan?" Bonnie asks hesitantly and I turn to look over across the football field where Stefan is running laps around the field, laughing with his friends, looking like he doesn't have a care in the world.

"Not yet" I reply in deep thought. "I think we should keep this between us for now, Stefan has football and college to concentrate on"

I'm going to talk to Damon.

* * *

I wait until I hear the shower running when I jump up from Stefan's bed and sneak out his bedroom. I glance back to makes sure that he is definitely not coming out of his bathroom any time soon before walking along the hall.

It takes me a little while to find it, but I'm eventually able to navigate myself to the other side of the second floor of the Boarding House to find what I think is Damon's bedroom.

I always found it weird that Stefan and Damon's bedrooms were at the complete opposite sides of the house, even if it is ginormous, I can't imagine Jeremy and I living in a house this big and still not having bedrooms next door from each other.

I take a deep nervous breath before knocking. Praying that I've found the right room.

I hear movement inside and my heart starts pounding as the door swings open and it is in fact the right room.

Damon's eyes widen in surprise when he sees me standing there "Elena?" he questions confused and the way he says my name makes my stomach flutter a little. "Hello"

"Hi" I force a smile and that's when I notice the cut and bruise on his forehead. "Um, what happened to you?" I question immediately and I watch as Damon's entire body tenses up and I realize that I probably should have waited to ask him about that.

"Nothing" he replies bluntly "What do you want Elena?"

I frown at the immediate change in his tone before taking another deep breath and answering, forcing a smile onto my face even if he does look like he just wants to shut his door in my face.

"I brought you some notes, from English class, since you missed it…" I start nervously "I thought you could copy mine?" Damon looks a little surprised and then raises his eyebrow and motions to my empty hands "Oh" I immediately cringe at my stupidity "I left them in my bag…in Stefan's room, sorry"

This is not going to plan at all!

Why does he make me so god damn nervous that I start to act like a loser?

"Right" He nods his head at me a little amused "Thank you anyway, Elena" he just said my name again, why does that bother me that he keeps on saying my name? I think maybe it's just the _way_ he says it. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. "Anything else?" he snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Yes actually" I begin realizing that I'll probably not get a chance anytime soon "I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier when you overhead what I said to Caroline. I didn't mean it"

"You meant it, Elena" Damon tells me seriously although all the coldness from before has left his voice "It's ok"

"No, it's really not" I tell him sincerely "I'm sorry, I don't know anything…about _anything_! Not you, not Katherine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to judge you like everyone else in this stupid town"

"Elena" Damon forces a small smile "Don't worry about it" he tells me.

"Are you sure you're ok?" I ask again motioning to his forehead, hoping that I'm not pushing my luck.

"I'm fine" he replies simply and then just stands there staring at me and it's not until a few moments later when I realize that I'm just staring straight back at him.

I cough awkwardly and take a step back "Ok then" I clasp my hands together "I'll leave my notes for you downstairs"

"Thank you" Damon nods his head at me before closing his bedroom door.

I stand frozen in the hallway for a moment and let out a breath I didn't even realise I was holding.

Well fuck me. That was a little intense.

* * *

**You probably already noticed but I'll mention it anyways: Yes, Elena just said Katherine's name out loud to Damon and yes, he did not react angrily to it and cut her off!**

**Thank you very very much to those of you who did review! It really does mean a lot and they do help to keep writing this story :) so again thank you! **

**Until next time :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

_**November 2011**_

"You stalking me now?" I ask with a smirk as Katherine Pierce appears by my locker. "This is the fifth time this month you've come to talk to me!"

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself Salvatore" she rolls her eyes "I need a favour from you"

"Oh yeah? And why would I want to help _you_ out?" I close my locker and walk through the halls, Katherine walking alongside me like it's the most natural thing in the world to her.

"Because you _like_ me" she smirks.

I scoff and roll my eyes "You think a lot of yourself don't you!"

"You're not denying it" she points out with a grin and I let out a small laugh and shake my head. She has a point.

"Fine" I sigh "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to take me to Winter Formal" she says simply and I immediately come to a halt and turn to face her in surprise.

"_What?!_ Are you serious?"

"Of course" Katherine shrugs like it's no big deal before wrapping her arms around my neck "I like you, you like me. Take me to Winter Formal"

"No way!"

"Why not?" she asks a little annoyed pulling her arms away with a glare.

"Well for one, I'm not going, I _hate_ dances and two, shouldn't you be going with Klaus or one of his cronies or something?"

"No!" Katherine almost looks offended. Turns out she is. "I'm insulted that you'd imply that, believe it or not Salvatore I've not picked a _side_ in this stupid little childish war you and Klaus have going on! When I say I want you to take me to the dance, I want you to take me to the dance, I don't do secret agendas"

"You expect me to believe that you're suddenly interested in me? That it has nothing to do with Klaus? I know you had a _thing_ with him all through sophomore year, Katherine. I'm not stupid"

"That ended over a year ago! And our _thing_ was just sex. I think he's an ass" she puts her arms back around my neck and stands on her tip toes so our lips are almost touching "And what do you mean _suddenly_ interested? In case you didn't notice I've been trying to get your attention since the beginning of summer, it's not my fault you kept running away from me"

I chuckle and shake my head with a sigh "Fine"

"You'll take me?" Katherine smirks.

"Yes" I mutter in annoyance "But that doesn't mean I'm going to be happy about it!"

"Good to know, you look hot when you're moody" she smirks before pressing her lips against mine.

Not caring who sees.

Not caring if Klaus sees.

* * *

Elena left me her notes.

_She_ left _me_ her notes.

I know it's probably not even a big deal. But no one has ever given me their notes from class before and I don't know why this bothers me.

But it does.

I look down at her neat handwriting and trace my finger down the page, skimming over her short paragraph characterization and key themes on the book Of Mice and Men.

I don't even need her notes really. I've read this book a dozen times, and just because I didn't attend class much over my previous three years at Mystic Falls High School, doesn't mean I can't understand a book I've already read.

Why would she give her notes to me? It's not like I've ever been nice to her. It can't even be that it's because I'm Stefan's brother, she's been dating him for a while now and she's never once bothered to interact with me before.

So why now?

And that's when it hits me.

She saw me the other week at Katherine's locker and she obviously feels sorry for me.

Well I don't need her pity, I don't need anyone's.

Especially about Katherine.

Katherine used me. She lied to me, she told me she loved me, but all along she was pining after my worst enemy. Our entire relationship was a lie.

Isn't it ironic that the one man she thought she could trust and love was the man that pulled the trigger to lead to her death? And that the one man who actually _did_ love her, was the one who sat and watched her die?

Love destroyed Katherine Pierce.

I know I'm just as much as to blame for Katherine's death as Klaus is, but at least I didn't pull the trigger, no matter what happened after that, that bullet in Katherine's chest did not come from me.

I sigh and shake my head in an effort to just stop thinking and try to forget about this entire day.

I can't believe I had a panic attack in front of Rebekah Mikaelson of all people! I know she will tell her brothers about this incident and they will probably plot to try and use my weakness against me and I know I'm going to have to force myself to be stronger.

I can't break down every time someone mentions her name, every time someone mentions how she betrayed me.

I need to be stronger.

The panic attacks started pretty much straight after that fateful night, it mostly happened when I was alone at night and I pictured her broken dead body in my arms, her pleading voice ringing in my ears as she begged me to save her and get help and I did nothing.

I did _nothing_.

The panic attacks only got worse as I spent numerous lonely nights alone in motel rooms across the country, chasing shadows and clues that I put _everything_ into following Klaus across different states, always that moment too late to ever catch up with him, that day, that week, one time I missed him by merely a few hours.

It wasn't until a dark painful night in Ohio, after months of travelling and searching and only revenge on my mind when the loneliness hit me.

My life was focused on one thing and one thing only, and that was finding a man I despised and killing him.

The thought saddened me that this was how my life was turning into. A mass of self-destruction and no one to share it with.

I used to be happy, I used to have friends.

It was after a full bottle of whiskey that I made the mistake of calling my brother, drunkenly rambling at him about how much I hated my life.

I told him that I was in Ohio and made him promise to keep that secret and I convinced him, I _did_.

Then I went and fucked it up.

_**29**__**th**__** July 2012**_

"Stefan" I mumble into my cellphone where I'm sat outside in a back alleyway behind the liquor store I found a couple hours ago, an almost empty bottle of whiskey in my hands as I pull it to my lips and guzzle the remains down without even flinching. "Stef" I breathe into the phone, tears running freely down my cheek. "I…I know I don't…I don't…not enough brother, but…" I slur my words and I don't even know if I'm making sense but I need to say this and he needs to hear it. "I love you"

The line falls silent for a few moments and I lean my head back against the wall behind me as I try to hold back a sob that is threatening to escape my lips.

"I know Damon" Stefan finally replies with a calm voice "I love you too. You need to come home, Damon, where you're safe"

"No" I shake my head and let out a small cough "I'm never going back…ever, ever, ever" I slur.

Stefan doesn't say anything and for a while we just sit there in silence and the only reason I know he is still there is because I can hear his breathing.

"I'm done brother. I can't keep living feeling like this. I just can't do it anymore" I tell him seriously as more tears stream down my face "I loved her. I loved her _so_ _much_" I throw the bottle across the alleyway in anger and pain and watch as it smashes to a million pieces.

Just like my life.

"I'm going to find Klaus" I continue, more tears falling from my eyes "And when I do, I'm going to kill him"

"Damon no" Stefan tries to interrupt me but I don't stop.

"And then it'll all be _over_, Stefan, all of it!" I close my eyes and sigh "Maybe I'll see Katherine in hell" I muse as a small smirk crosses my lips.

"What? Damon…you're not serious"

"It's never gonna get any better, brother!" I chuckle bitterly "I'm not human anymore, and I miss it, I miss it more than anything in the _world_! And I miss _her_ and the way she made me _feel_ and it hurts me brother, it hurts me _so_ much to realize that it was all a lie! That none of it was real!" I'm crying now, full on sobbing down the phone to my baby brother but I don't even care anymore.

Maybe it's the booze or maybe it's just everything finally catching up to me.

"The pain is the only thing that's _real_, Stefan" I laugh through my cries at the irony "And I just _don't care_. I don't want to be here, not anymore, not without Katherine"

"Don't throw away your life because of her, Damon!" Stefan practically shouts down the phone "She's not worth it!"

"But she is…" I cry and shake my head "And how pathetic does that make me? I still love a girl who betrayed me in every single way possible, who never even loved me back…" I let out another bitter laugh and as I do, another sob falls from my lips "I'm done, Stefan. Have a nice life. Goodbye brother"

I hang up and squeeze my eyes shut before lobbing my phone across the way and watch it smash almost as bad as the bottle did.

Just like my life.

Of course after my stupid drunken confession to my brother, he decided to share my location with daddy dearest and it wasn't long before I was tracked down and brought back to Mystic Falls.

We took a few detours on the way of course, my father claiming that I needed my head _clearing_ and we stayed in Chicago for a couple of weeks, lots of different expensive therapists thrown in my direction, trying to get me to _open up_ and share my _suicidal thoughts_.

I'm not suicidal.

I don't necessarily _want_ to die. I'm not some 15 year old emo kid who's just found out how much the world sucks and slits his wrists or anything like that.

My life had just simply lost its purpose and after everything that I had done, I knew that I no longer deserved to be here and that the world would probably be a better place without me.

Things have changed since then though, it's only been seven weeks since that phone call but I feel different being back here, back home, in this town.

Even if I don't want to be.

"Damon" Stefan knocks on my bedroom door before opening it slightly and peeking his head inside "Dinner's ready" he forces a smile and I sigh before standing up.

Oh right, I forgot that part of the _strategies_ my father is using to try and keep me out of trouble is to have a _family_ dinner at least once a week.

Great. I can tell this is going to be _so_ much fun.

* * *

I'm a little annoyed at Stefan as I climb into my car that's parked in the driveway of the Boarding House.

He couldn't have gotten me out of that house quick enough.

Apparently they were having a family dinner and I understood, I was more than willing to leave and let him spend time with his family but it wasn't until I was halfway down the stays and Giuseppe asked me if I liked to join them when my boyfriend pissed me off.

Before I could accept the offer, surprised but flattered that the eldest Salvatore was willing to include me for once, Stefan jumped in and said I already had plans.

I frowned at him confused because I certainly didn't have plans but he just sent me an apologetic glance before ushering me outside.

"Trust me, Elena, it's for the best" he told me as he closed the front door behind him "This dinner is just a ploy to get Damon to talk, it's going to be awkward and tense and it's not something you need to see"

I just simply sighed and told him it was fine, even if I was a little hurt he didn't trust me to be around.

So now what am I supposed to do?

Jenna is out with Alaric tonight and no doubt Jeremy will already have plans. Caroline was spending the evening with her Dad while he was visiting and Bonnie was also busy with her family.

I know that Matt is working this evening so I decide to head to the Grille, grab some food while keeping him company.

I get there and he greets me with a smile, taking my order and when I eat he takes his break and joins me. We talk and it's fun but soon the Grille starts to get busy and I realize that I'm distracting him so I make my excuses and leave.

I'm driving home when I go past the cemetery and I realize that with all the distractions of starting senior year that I haven't been here in a while and I quickly park before walking inside. Trying to ignore how creepy it is this early evening.

I walk my usual route to my parent's grave and take a seat before I start to tell them about my day and my week.

I talk about anything and everything and it always makes me feel better. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I don't know how long I've been sat here, just talking, but it must have been a while because before I know it, it's dark out.

I sigh and go to stand up but before I do a voice interrupts me.

"Elena?" I jump a little, getting a fright by the interruption and look up to see Damon Salvatore stood beside me, his hood pulled over his head and his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. "Sorry" he forces a smile "Didn't mean to scare you"

"That's ok" I smile back, still sitting down "What are you doing here? I thought you had a family dinner"

Damon looks away for a moment and frowns "I did, but it was a bust" he shrugs and I'm a little surprised when he bends down and sits down on the grass beside me, wrapping his arms around his knees before motioning towards the gravestone with his head "So uh…your parents?" he questions a little awkwardly and I smile sadly.

"Yeah" I nod slowly "I like to come here sometimes, just to talk to them…I don't even know if they can hear me, but it just feels nice, comforting, you know?"

"I know" he nods his head in understanding.

"Are you here to see Kather-"

"No" Damon interrupts me and I frown a little confused "My mother is buried here" he explains after a few more moments of silence.

His mother?

"She is?" I ask confused.

Damon turns his head to face me and I see him frown in confusion when he notices the surprised look my face "Wait, Stefan never told you our mother died?" he asks totally bewildered.

"No, I mean, Yes!" I quickly shake my head, confusing myself "I mean, I knew she died…sorry" I apologize quickly "I just didn't know she was buried…_here_, in Mystic Falls"

"Well yes" Damon frowns and turns his head away to look at my own parent's gravestone "She died here"

"She did?" I ask again shocked and I wonder why Stefan never ever told me this.

"Stefan not tell you that either?"

"No" I mumble quietly, not quite believing that I don't know this stuff about my own boyfriend's mother.

"She died when I was seven" he explains quietly "That's why we moved to Chicago, to get away from all the _bad memories_" he mutters in a bitter tone. "Well _newsflash_, bad memories don't go away just because you're in a different state" he seems angry, and hurt and bitter and it's weird to me because when Stefan talks about his Mom he only has fond memories, sad, but fond.

I gulp slightly, my heart beating too fast as I struggle to believe this conversation is actually happening.

I've never seen Damon look so…so…_real_.

"How…how did she die?" I question softly, hoping I'm not pushing my luck.

Again Damon frowns and turns his head to face me "You don't know?" he's genuinely surprised by this.

"No" I shake my head, suddenly feeling like I'm missing out on something here that everybody else seems to know about except for me.

"Suicide" Damon tells me looking directly at me into my eyes and my heart stops. "She committed suicide" he repeats before breaking our stare and turning his head away.

"Damon I" I start, unsure of what to say. How did I not know this? "I'm sorry" I tell him completely sincere.

"It's not your fault" Damon forces a smile and we sit in silence for a few minutes, and weirdly it's not awkward.

I shiver a little, realizing that I've left my jacket in the car and I turn surprised to see Damon pulling his hoody over his head. "Here" he holds it out for me and I look at him bewildered "You're cold, take it"

"No I… I can't" I stutter "What about you?"

"I'm fine" he pretty much forces the hoody in my hands I sigh before giving in, putting it over my head and snuggling into it.

It's so cosy.

"Thanks" I smile softly and he shrugs like it's no big deal.

But it is a big deal. This is Damon Salvatore, Mystic Fall's notorious bad boy and here is sat at my parent's gravestone, with _me_, keeping _me_ company and giving _me_ his hoody to keep me warm.

I feel like I'm in an alternate universe.

"So uh" Damon begins awkwardly "Thanks for your notes from English class"

"You're welcome" I grin slightly noticing how uncomfortable he looks thanking me "You get the chance to read them?"

"Yeah" he nods his head "They are good, very useful. Thank you"

"Anytime" I smirk and I watch as he shifts slightly awkwardly. "I've almost finished the book, I love it. Lennie and George have such a strong connection" I try to keep the conversation going, just so we could stay here for a few minutes longer.

"The ending will make you sad" he tells me with a small shy smile and I turn to face him shocked. Not because of what he has said but what he has implied.

"You've finished it?" I ask in shock. We only got given the book last week and I thought I was a nerd by being almost done reading it.

"Uh huh" Damon smirks at my surprised face. "Numerous of times actually"

"But I thought the school made seniors study To Kill A Mockingbird last year instead" thinking that since he is repeating his senior year he may have already studied it.

"They did" Damon shrugs "That was a good book too" I gawp at him a little and Damon laughs, he actually _laughs_ and then in turn that makes _me_ laugh, there's just something so infectious about it. Maybe because it's such a rare sound to come from him. "Why do you look so surprised?" he chuckles at me shaking his head.

"Because it's _you_" I tell him a little amused "I didn't exactly have you down as a book reading kinda boy" I tell him honestly.

"Well, my reputation in this town paints a picture of me as a certain type of person, but I'm not a stereotype Elena"

"Good" I smile "Because-" I get interrupted by the beeping sound of my phone and I pull it out of my pocket to read the text message. "Text from Stefan" I mumble quietly in explanation before looking down to read it.

_**Hey, so sorry about before,  
dinner is done with, Damon ruined it  
as per. Can I come over? X**_

I frown slightly at his words before looking back up and that's when I notice that I'm now alone.

I turn my head in both directions and stand to my feet looking around confused and a little disappointed.

Damon is gone.

* * *

**Thank you lots and lots to everyone who reviewed! really means a lot and I enjoy reading your feedback and thoughts, really does help me write more!**

**Hope you all liked the chapter :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

_**December 2011**_

"DAMON STOP!" Katherine screams furiously as I throw another snowball off of her, not at all happy to be my target.

"Oh come on Katherine" I laugh amused finally stopping my attack "It's just a bit of snow, it's not going to kill you!"

"You've got my hair all wet!" she moans in frustration as she pulls out a pocket mirror and attempts to fix it. I roll my eyes and go to approach her but she takes a step back with a glare. "I hate you Damon Salvatore, I look a mess!"

"You look beautiful!" I roll my eyes "As always" I try to wrap my arms around her but she pulls away in annoyance and swats my hands away. "Oh come on, I was kidding!"

"You're _so_ not funny" she mutters angrily.

"Trouble in paradise already?" I turn around in annoyance to see Klaus looking smug from the window of his car, pulled up just outside Katherine's front yard.

"You want to get out of the car and say that?" I snap at him angrily as I go to approach him but Katherine grabs my arm to stop me.

"Just go away Klaus!" she shouts at him in annoyance.

"Oh but I thought we were having a snowball fight?" he asks in mock disappointment "I can help you get revenge if you'd like sweetheart?" he smirks and I clench my fists by my side.

"If you don't drive away in the next twenty seconds I'm going to throw more than a snowball off your face!" I warn him seriously.

However what happens next shocks me, from out of nowhere a snowball flies past me like a rocket and crashes straight into Klaus before he even realises.

I turn around to see Katherine standing with her hands on her hips looking pretty smug.

A loud howl of uncontrollable laughter escapes my lips as I turn back to Klaus who is wiping it from his face in fury "You bitch!" he hisses at her angrily and I just laugh louder as I bend down and pick up a pile of snow, quickly throwing into the direction of Klaus's car, unfortunately my aim isn't as good as my girlfriend as it only hits the car but it's enough to scare Klaus into quickly winding up his window and driving away.

"That was awesome!" I chuckle and turn back to face Katherine but she is already halfway up the steps of her porch to her house "Hey where you goin?!" I hold my arms out in the air in question.

"I'm still mad at you Salvatore!" she turns around with a glare as she swings open her front door and steps inside, making sure to slam it _hard_ behind her.

Great.

* * *

I hadn't bothered to ask Stefan about the information I'd learned about his mother from Damon last week, I kind of liked the fact that I had that conversation with his brother and that it was something that happened between Damon and I, and only us.

If Stefan didn't trust me enough about his family secrets then that's his problem.

Damon and I have formed some kind of understanding this past week, we've sat next to each other in most of the classes we share, and we even went to the library after school yesterday so Damon could help me find a new book to read. In the end I couldn't even find one because we got kicked out by the snotty librarian for talking and laughing too loudly.

I smile when I think about it. Damon Salvatore is not the boy I imagined him to be.

I'm not in the mood to spend lunch in the cafeteria with him and my friends, all sat together around one big table mixed with footballers and cheerleaders like we are a massive cheesy American high school stereotype, the boys talking about their next game, too cocky and confident while the girls gossip about who is dating who.

I don't know why this has been annoying me these past couple of days, I'm usually one of those girls, gossiping and praising the boys, being that stereotypical teenager, as much as it annoys me to think that. It is who I am.

Luckily I had time to make myself a sandwich this morning before cheer practise and I quickly walk straight past the cafeteria, hoping I don't run into anybody and head straight down the quieter hallways.

When I reach my destination I don't even knock on the door before entering and I'm immediately surprised to see that while Alaric is there, he's not alone.

"Damon" his name falls from my lips before I can even process it and I inwardly cringe at how embarrassing I am.

"Elena" Damon half smirks back and I feel like I'm blushing.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" I finally pull myself together and glance at Ric who shakes his head.

"No of course not, we're just having lunch" he states like it's no big deal and that it's an everyday occurrence.

Hang on.

I've not once seen Damon in the cafeteria at lunch time and I guess now I know why.

"You're more than welcome to join us" Alaric smiles and I glance at Damon, feeling like I'm somehow intruding.

"Don't mind me" Damon shrugs and I smile shyly before taking a seat, I notice from the corner of my eye that Damon is watching me and I can feel my face starting to heat up. "You not sitting with your _friends_ today?" he asks and there's something in the way that he asked that question that makes me frown a little.

"No, wanted to have a quiet one" I reply with a shrug.

"I was just trying to convince Damon to apply to college" Alaric rejoins the conversation and I notice Damon stiffen beside me.

"You're not thinking about it already?"

"Nope" Damon shakes his head "It's just not for me"

"Yes it is" Alaric fires back before turning to face me "Damon doesn't believe he's good enough, but he is, he's a lot smarter than he looks!"

I watch Damon shuffle uncomfortable at the compliment before I smile to myself thinking back to the night at the graveyard last week when he confessed that he had already read Of Mice and Men as well as others. "I know" I smile at him and I'm a little surprised when he blushes.

Damon Salvatore actually blushes.

"Mr Saltzman is just trying to mould me into another version of himself, maybe it's a midlife crisis thing?" Damon jokes trying to hide his embarrassment but I noticed.

"Hey! I'll have you know Salvatore that I'm still young, down with the kids,_ like totally_!" he pulls some sort of weird hand gesture and Damon and I look at each other before bursting into laugher.

"Please don't do that again Ric!" I giggle into my hand while shaking my head.

We continue to talk about random things, laughing and joking and teasing each other and I like it. I've never seen Damon look so relaxed before and that makes me smile. I was surprised to see how different Damon acts around Alaric than he does with anyone else, almost like he admires him.

I'd never say that to Damon though.

Sadly, the bell soon rings and I look down surprised at my watch to see that our lunch hour is up already. Wow that went fast.

Damon and I stand up and say a quick goodbye to Alaric before walking out of the classroom together. "Hey, we have English together next, right?" I ask as I notice he hasn't moved away from me as we walk through the halls. Damon just nods his head but doesn't say anything and I'm a little disappointed with how his walls seem to be built straight back up since we've left the sanctuary of Alaric's classroom. "Oh" a thought suddenly crosses my mind "I still have your jacket! You left the other night before I could give you it back and I forgot I even had it" Lie. I've snuggled up in that hoody more than once this past week, it's just so warm and cosy. "I can drop it off tonight for you if you like?"

Damon turns his head to the side as we continue to walk and offers my a small but stiff smile "It's fine, Elena, no rush" he shrugs.

I'm about to reply but suddenly Kol Mikaelson steps straight in front us of, causing is to come to an immediate halt and I glance at Damon nervously, this is not going to be good.

"Move" Damon snaps at him furiously under gritted teeth. "Now"

"Tut tut Salvatore" Kol shakes his head in mocking "Where are your manners?"

"Go away Kol" I roll my eyes in annoyance and go to walk past him, praying that Damon will take my lead and follow but Kol steps to the side in my way and I crash straight into his chest. Before I realise what is going on Damon grabs my arm and tugs me back, stepping between Kol and I.

"Back off, now" he looks furious and I can see how tense his entire body is. Luckily for us, mostly everyone is already in class so there aren't many people around the halls to draw attention to this situation.

"You think you can threaten my little sister and get away with it?" the sick smile from Kol's face is gone now he looks threatening. I gulp slightly, thinking that he looks a little scary but Damon doesn't seem fazed by this at all.

"I think that I can do whatever the hell I like and that you should back off, right now" he takes a step forward as does Kol and they are now face to face.

"Damon we should get to class" I try and ease the situation but it's no use.

"Yeah Damon, get to class" Kol mimics me with a smirk.

"Please Damon" I ignore Kol completely and gently press my hand on Damon's arm. I watch as his stance softens just a little but it's enough and he takes a step back from Kol, his face still full of rage but at least he's backing off.

I still hold his arm as I pull him away from Kol and towards our next class which we are already late for.

"That's right Salvatore, you go follow a girl that will _never_ belong to you! At least this one doesn't love _my_ brother, just _yours_! How is Katherine these days anyway? Oh. Oh. That's right…she's dead! I'd watch out Elena, you could be next!" Kol laughs nastily and Damon's arm is pulled out of my grip before I can even blink.

I turn around just in time to see Damon tackle Kol to the ground and pound his fist into his face repeatedly.

"Damon _stop_!" I run back over to them and hiss quietly trying not to draw attention from teachers in classrooms because I know the last thing Damon needs right now is to get into trouble with the school.

Damon continues to punch Kol, in the face, the stomach, _everywhere_ and no matter how hard Kol is trying to defend himself, he isn't strong enough.

"Damon please!" I beg, pulling on the back of his t-shirt trying to pull him off "Please!" I notice Damon's punches slow down and I manage to pull the eldest Salvatore off of Kol who immediately jumps in the air with blood dripping down his face.

I look at him in shock at the damage he has done to Kol's face and down at his fists which are dripping with blood. Damon looks over at me and immediately notices my horrified face before looking back at Kol , tensing his jaw and glancing back at me, he looks so lost like he doesn't know what to do and all I want to do is reach out to him but he doesn't give me the chance. He turns on his heel and sprints down the corridor before I have the chance to stop him.

"That's right Salvatore! You better run! This isn't over!" Kol screams after him furiously and I turn to look at him in anger.

"You deserved that!" I spit at him coldly, surprising myself by how pissed off I feel at this boy who has just been beaten up yet I have no sympathy for him, just the boy who did it. I turn around and walk quickly down the hall, ignoring Kol shouting abuse after me as I hope I can find Damon before he does something else that will get him into trouble.

* * *

"God damn it!" I slam open the doors that lead towards the football field and try to take deep breaths to stop myself from falling into another panic attack.

Thoughts of Katherine and Klaus together swirl around my mind, then of Katherine's dead body lying in my arms.

The next image that I see however shocks me.

It's Elena.

"Stop it" I mutter to myself while struggling to breath, my breaths coming out loudly as I pant, leaning down and pressing my hands against my knees as quick gasps escape my lips.

My eyes begin to water and I feel like I'm going to collapse, everything is spinning and I fall to my knees.

I can't breathe.

I feel like I'm going to die.

"Damon?" someone calls my name but I can't look up and before I know it someone's hand is rubbing my back soothingly "Hey, hey, calm down, it's ok"

It's Elena. I could recognise that husky tone anywhere.

"Just breathe, slowly, in and out, in and out" I try and follow her but it's hard, it's so hard. "Come on" she urges me and I realise that she has my head pressed against her shoulder as she kneels down beside me holding me against her, her other hand stroking my cheek softly while the other one continues to run up and down my back.

"In and out" she continues quietly and soon I'm able to follow her breathing and calm down. "There we go" she rubs her thumb against my cheek and I ignore the feeling in my stomach and my pounding heart that has nothing to do with the panic attack.

"I'm sorry" I whisper, still trying to gather my bearings.

"Don't be" she says back quietly but her tone is soft and comforting.

We stay like this for a few minutes as my breathing gets back to normal and I'm able to calm down. The embarrassment at what has just happened finally catches up to me and I pull myself away from Elena and stand up, taking a few steps away from her. I watch as Elena looks a little disappointed before standing up as well.

"Sorry" I mumble awkwardly. I can't believe this keeps happening to me. This is the second time that I've had a panic attack in front of someone, this can't happen a third.

"Are you ok?" she asks concerned and I nod my head.

"I'm fine" I snap a little, a little humiliated by all of this. I'm Damon Salvatore for fuck sakes.

"Damon" Elena smiles softly "You don't have to hide from me"

I shake my head in annoyance "Just because we talked the other night and then spent some time together this week does _not_ make us friends Elena!"

"Why not?" she questions with a shrug "I mean no offence but you're a bit of a loner, I think you could use some friends"

"I _had_ friends, I don't need new ones!" I snap thinking of my old gang who are now either locked up in a prison cell or away from Mystic Falls at college.

"Why not?" Elena challenges me "In case you didn't realise, graduation is a long way away! You can't go through this entire year without talking to anybody Damon. And before you say anything, Alaric doesn't count!"

"Why do you even care?!" I raise my voice a little "You don't know me! So what, you're dating my brother, you dated him through most of the last year and you've never been interested in me before!"

"Yeah and you wanna know why? You were always too busy running around with your gang beating people up and breaking laws!" Elena actually looks a little angry "You're right, I don't _know_ you Damon, but that's because you won't let me know you. Well newsflash, in case the last couple of days haven't been obvious to you, I'm trying to get to know you, I _want_ to get to know you! I want to be your friend Damon" she stomps her foot in annoyance and I can't help the laugh that falls from my lips because of it which just annoys Elena even more "Seriously?! You're _laughing_ at me?"

I shrug, a smirk crossing over my lips as another chuckle escapes "Maybe"

I watch as the smile tries to escape from Elena's mouth, her lips tugging to the side as she struggles to keep her angry expression on her face "Urgh you're such an ass!"

"So I've been told" I chuckle and she steps forward and punches my arm in annoyance but the smile on her face is spreading. "Was that supposed to hurt?" I mock in amusement and she glares at me before punching me again.

"I'm warning you Salvatore!"

"Ooo I'm scared!" I hold out my hands in front of my eyes and shake them for good measure, trying to keep in my laughter as Elena groans in frustration and pushes me full force in the chest causing me to stumble backwards a little, and unfortunately for me, I trip over my own feet and end up flat on my ass.

Elena bursts into hysterical laughter, clutching her stomach as she looks down at me.

"Oh you think that was funny huh?" I jump straight back up to my feet and run towards her, but she's quick and moves before I get to her. "You can't outrun me Elena!" I call after her as I run around the football field chasing her.

Elena's hysterical laughs while she is running is the only thing I can hear and it makes me feel happy. So happy.

It doesn't take me long to catch up and before she knows it I wrap my arms around her waist and throw her over my shoulder, Elena squealing in surprise at my actions as the laughter continues to escape from her lips.

If I could hear one sound for the rest of my life it would be Elena's Gilbert's laugh.

It's so contagious.

"Put me down you ass!" she gaps out between her giggles as she starts punching my back from where she hangs upside down behind me.

"Not until you apologise!" I walk towards the bleachers at the side of the field as Elena tries everything in her power to escape from my grasp.

"No! You were being an ass, you deserved it!"

"That doesn't sound like an apology" I start spinning around, getting faster and faster and Elena squeals even louder as another laugh escapes her lips.

"Damon! Damon! Stop it! You're going to drop me!" she gets out in-between her screams.

"I won't drop you Elena!" I continue to spin but I am starting to feel a bit dizzy myself and slowly come to a stop, my feet a little shaky and I actually nearly do stumble onto the ground. I finally give in and bend down dropping her to her feet. Elena lifts herself up and stumbles backwards a little in dizziness and I grab onto her arms and hold her steady with a smirk "Oh, hello there Miss Gilbert, you look a little flushed? Everything alright?"

Elena just sends me another a glare with a smirk on her lips as she struggles to regain her composure, still feeling a little dizzy.

I chuckle and walk us towards the bleachers and sitting down, staring out into the football field and letting out a relaxed sigh.

I've never felt like this in a long time.

I jump a little when I feel Elena's hand touch mine and I look down in shock before realisation hits me. "You're hand" she mumbles as she notices the dried blood and the darkened skin that will no doubt form into bruises "You should go see the nurse"

"No it's fine" I shake my head.

"It looks painful" she runs her thumb over my knuckles and I gasp slightly at the stinging sensation "Sorry" she mumbles guiltily but I shake my head in disagreement.

"You need to stop apologising Gilbert, you do it _way_ too much!" I tell her pointedly and she smiles a little.

"I can't help it that I'm a naturally polite person" she grins.

"Pfft" I scoff "There's polite, then there's you! I've known you for what, a couple of weeks? And you've apologised to me so many times so far it's crazy! You need to stop it"

"I can't help it!" she tries to defend herself but I can tell she agrees with me, just a little.

We fall into a comfortable silence, both of us knowing that no words need to be spoken right now. Elena lets go of my hand at some point and I can't help but feel a little disappointed.

This is so unusual.

What is it about this girl that makes me continue to let my guard down around her? Maybe she is right, maybe I _do_ need a friend. I've been on my own for the last six months, my mind only focussed on one thing and I lost touch with all my old gang who left for college and don't even acknowledge the ones that are still here in Mystic Falls High.

Even Rose, who I'd say was my best friend, I haven't spoken to since I left Mystic Falls. I don't even know where she is, if she got into Duke with her boyfriend Trevor, which was her dream school, or if they went somewhere else. I'm just glad that neither of them was there that night and weren't involved or their college dreams would have been crushed by the sound of a jail cell closing.

Is this what Elena is then? A friend?

"What did Kol mean before about Katherine and Klaus?" Elena breaks the silence and I cringe at her question. Sometimes I forget that the Katherine and Klaus's…_thing_ isn't public knowledge. As far as everyone in this town was concerned, I was Katherine's boyfriend and she loved me just as much as I loved her.

If only they knew.

"It's nothing Elena" I mumble awkwardly "I don't really want to talk about it" I look down at my shoes.

"Ok" Elena replies simply and I turn to look at her surprised "What?" she looks a bit put out at my surprised stare "Geez, I do know when to mind my own business _sometimes_ you know" she knocks her shoulder against mine and I chuckle as Elena lets out a small laugh of her own.

"Rare occurrence" I smirk and she shakes her head.

"Shut up"

I laugh a little and we fall into another comfortable silence before we are rudely interrupted.

"Elena!"

I look up to see that cheerleader Bonnie walk towards us. She stops a couple feet ahead of us and looks between us a little confused, her eyes all judgy and disapproving.

"Hi Bonnie" Elena greets her from beside me but there is something different in her voice that I don't like. I see her tense up from the corner of my eye and she looks very uncomfortable right now.

I notice the sceptic look Bonnie is giving her and I realise it's because of me. Maybe she doesn't want her real friends to see me with her. It would make sense; girls like Elena don't usually associate with guys like me.

I can't help but feel a little disappointed and saddened by this conclusion as I rise to my feet.

Fuck this.

My disappointment changes to annoyance as I jump down from the bleachers.

"Where are you going?" Elena sounds confused but I refuse to turn my head to face to her and see the shame and awkwardness in her eyes at being caught sitting with me.

"To find my _friends_" I reply a little too icily than intended while walking away, ignoring the small glare on that Bonnie girl's face.

What the hell is her problem?

I walk around to the other side of the school, towards the edge of the car park and I'm not disappointed to what I find by the old bike shed that is no longer in use.

Good to know some traditions don't change.

There is Tyler Lockwood and all of the younger members of my old gang, smoking and laughing and being up to no good. Not a single one of them in class where they are supposed to be right now.

"Damon" Tyler notices me first and he immediately stands up, the small group immediately stop talking and laughing and turn to face me in shock, some of them even standing up.

"Boys" I greet them with a smirk "Ladies" I nod towards Vicki and another girl who I recognise used to hang with her and Katherine back in the old days.

There is a couple of unfamiliar faces but it doesn't matter because they seem to know who I am, and believe it or not I do actually trust Tyler's judgement on who he lets hang back here.

"You back?" Tyler asks me with a hopeful expression on his face.

I nod my head a little and some of the boys cheer and I roll my eyes. I step forward and they all shut up, giving me the respect that I earned back before everything went to shit.

"I want you all to tell me everything you know about the Mikaelson's and that includes all of them, Finn, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah and…_Klaus_. Even the parents if you know something, a_nything_, even if you don't think it's important, I want to know" I steal a cigarette from some kid's mouth who is sitting next to Vicki, he looks familiar but I can't think of why, he doesn't argue though, instead he stays silent and watches me as I go to sit down in my old spot on the top step by the door of the old shed.

"Vicki" I look over at her with a smirk and she looks a little surprised that I've acknowledged her again by name since I've avoided her like the plague since I saw her on the first day of school "Let's start with you. Talk to me"

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Again thank you very much to those of you who reviewed the last chapter, keeping me going!**

**Thank you :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

_**January 2011**_

"What the hell is wrong with you Damon?!" Katherine shouts at my in annoyance as she storms out into my house the second I open the door.

"Well good morning to you too my dear" I greet her sarcastically while rolling my eyes. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

"I just saw Rebekah Mikealson at the mall and she told me that she spent the entire night at the hospital because Klaus was in a car accident last night" she snaps.

Oh man. She is not happy.

I pout mockingly "Oh no, that is _awful_ news"

"You could have killed him!" Katherine accuses me furiously. "I know it was you and your gang Damon so don't even try to deny it!"

"So we messed with his brakes a little, so _what_ he deserved it! He set Trevor's _house_ on fire, he put a firework through his letterbox and nearly blew up half of his house!" I tell her in annoyance "Why do you even care? It's Klaus!"

"I don't care about _him_!" Katherine argues angrily "I care about _you_! What if you got caught? You could go to jail for shit like this Damon! This isn't papering someone's house or spraying someone's locker!"

I roll my eyes "Klaus started this, we just finished it" I shrug. "Now can we stop talking about Klaus? It's Saturday and we're here, alone, how about we take advantage of that instead of you grilling my ass over something that has already happened?"

"You're lucky you're hot Salvatore!" Katherine glares at me before pretty much attacking my lips with hers.

* * *

Damon has been avoiding me.

I haven't had the chance to properly speak to him since last week when he got into that fight with Kol. It's not like I haven't tried, but he's barely been in school all week and I couldn't help but notice that he's starting to hang around with some of his old gang more, something that I'm not entirely happy about, I thought he was done with all that and I can't help but feel worried that he's being dragged back into this gang war thing.

Mystic Falls has been quiet and almost trouble free ever since the night Katherine died and I hope for everyone's sake, especially Damon's, that it doesn't change.

"Elena? Elena?" Stefan's voice breaks me from my thoughts and I slam my locker shut and turn to face him.

"What?"

"Are you even listening to me?" Stefan asks annoyed.

"Sorry, I spaced out" I force a smile and Stefan still looks a little annoyed at me but to be honest I don't really care "Have you seen Damon this morning?" I ask curiously and Stefan frowns.

"Why do you keep asking me about my brother Elena?" he asks suspiciously "I didn't think the two of you were friends"

I shrug a little as we walk to our first class of the day "We sit together in a couple of classes" I tell him casually "I thought you knew that"

"I did" Stefan replies "I just didn't think that made the two of you friends" I turn my head to the side as a frown crosses his face "You don't want to be his friend Elena"

"Why not?" I ask defensively "He's not _that_ bad" I say a little annoyed, thinking about all the horrible stories Stefan has told me about his brother over the years I've known him. And yes, I know that I don't know Damon _that_ well and that he has changed over the last few months but the boy I've started to get to know recently is not the same boy Stefan describes.

"Yes he is" Stefan lectures me as we walk into our classroom and take our regular seats "You don't know some of the things he has done. He's trouble, and honestly, I don't like the fact that you hang out with him"

"We don't hang out" I roll my eyes a little. Well, Damon doesn't let us hang out. "We just talk in class sometimes"

"Ok, fine" Stefan backs down a little "I'm just warning you, he's bad news"

"Ok, I heard you" I mutter in annoyance as Alaric walks into the classroom and begins his class. I look across the classroom to see that Damon's seat is empty.

* * *

"Knock, knock" I walk into Alaric's classroom at lunch time hoping to see Damon here today but unfortunately I'm disappointed.

"Come on in" Alaric greets me with a smile as I walk towards him. He holds out a small tub with a sandwich inside and offers it to me "Want one? Damon normally steals it but he's a no show today it seems"

"Yeah where is he anyway? I haven't seen him around much these past few days" I take a seat, taking the spare sandwich gratefully.

"Well actually, I wanted to talk to you about this" Alaric tells me seriously and I don't know why but my heart speeds up a little. Why does he want to talk to me about Damon? "I've noticed Damon has been going back to his old ways a little, he's skipping classes again and he's starting to go back with the wrong crowd. Honestly, I'm worried about him, he's a smart kid but he's also very troubled and what happened last year with Katherine really hit him hard, and I thought these past few weeks since school had started that he'd made major progress, he'd been going to class, doing his homework, I even thought I'd had convinced him to actually take a look at some colleges, but this past week it's like he's on his way back to the old Damon and I don't want that to happen" Alaric tells me sincerely and I'm a little surprised by how much he's concerned about this.

I always knew that they had some sort of mutual understanding with each other that Damon didn't have with anyone else in this school and that Alaric always cut Damon some slack, but I didn't realise just how much Ric genuinely cares about Damon.

"I'm worried about him too" I tell him seriously "I'm trying to be his friend but he won't let me. I know that I haven't known him for that long, but when we do talk it always seems so… _real_, you know? It's weird"

"I notice" Alaric smiles softly at me "Damon has always been quite a guarded kid, even his so called _friends_ weren't really his friends, it's like he's scared to show the real him to people but if there is one thing I've noticed Elena, is that he doesn't seem as guarded when he is around you. I don't know why that is, but it's true. You should talk to him, ask him what's going on"

"I've tried Ric" I tell him in frustration "Every time I try and talk to him he shoots me down and walks away, it's like he's angry with me but I don't think I've even done anything to piss him off!"

"He's like that" Alaric sighs "Just be patient with him but don't stop trying, I've noticed from past experience that if you give Damon Salvatore space, he'll think you don't care. Best thing is to push him and keep pushing, he may explode on you but that's what you want if you want to get through to him and be his friend, Elena, but that's up to you, he's a lot of work, it just depends if you think he is worth it"

I nod my head and we fall into a comfortable silence as I think about everything that Alaric has just told me.

Is Damon Salvatore worth the risk of feeling so rejected when he shoots me down just so I can push past that barrier to be his friend?

I go back to what Ric said about Damon being himself around me and I can't help but smile at the thought. I don't know what makes me so special for him to let his guard down a little but it makes me happy.

I know then that Damon is worth it.

* * *

"You get em?" I question Vicki as she walks over to me round back at the old bike sheds with a smirk on her face, her new friend Jeremy trailing behind her.

"Of course" she winks at me before tossing the keys. I catch them with a grin before placing them in my pocket. "Rebekah had no idea"

"Good to know you still got it" I stand up to my feet as they both sit down and start to talk to some of the other guys.

I walk a little further away from the group and pull out my cellphone, seeing that I have a text from my brother.

_**You need to stop missin class  
Dad is starting to notice that  
U R hangin back with your  
old crew. Don't screw this up Damon.**_

I roll my eyes at his lecture and stick my phone back into my pocket as Tyler approaches me.

"So, what made you change your mind? You told me you were done with the Mikaelson's" He asks me curiously.

I shrug and look around a little before I answer "Things change Lockwood, I got bored, I can't last another year here in Mystic Falls without having a little fun, it might as well be at that family's expense. Plus, I never said I was _done_ with the Mikaelson's, because as far as I'm concerned nothing will be _done_ until Klaus pays for what he did, until he is rotting 10 feet under next to his bitch of a girlfriend" I mutter bitterly.

Tyler takes a step closer to me and speaks quietly "Who else knows about Klaus and Katherine?" he asks while making sure no one else is listening to us.

"No one who didn't know six months ago" I remind him, not liking the fact that Tyler knows but making sure that he knows not to share this information with anyone else. "Keep it that way" I warn him and Tyler immediately nods his head.

"Of course, Damon, I wouldn't do that to you"

He's lucky I believe him.

"Damon?"

I turn my head around surprised by that voice and look to see Elena slowly and hesitantly approaching. "Elena? What are you doing here?" I walk towards her confused, glancing back behind me awkwardly to make sure that Tyler has made himself scarce.

He has.

"I wanted to talk to you" she smiles nervously "You've been avoiding me"

Damn. Was I that obvious?

"No I haven't" I pathetically try and act dumb but she sees right through me.

"Damon" she smiles and I can't help but smile back.

"Fine" I sigh "You're right, congratulations on your detective skills" I attempt to joke but she doesn't play along.

"Have I done something to upset you? I thought we were starting to become friends"

"That was the problem, Elena" I tell her honestly "You don't want to be friends with me"

"Why not?" she frowns "And surely that is up to me to decide?"

"I'm trouble, _bad news_" I mimic the voice of many others who have judged me "We are two completely different types of people, Elena"

"So? I don't care. I like you and I want to be friends with you so what is the problem?" she crosses her arms around her and bites on her lip nervously "Unless it's _you_ who doesn't want to know _me?_" she shakes her head and lets out a bitter laugh "Of course it is, I'm so stupid! You're Damon Salvatore" she looks embarrassed and turns around to walk away but I reach out and grab her arm.

"Hey" I pull her back towards me "Despite the company you choose to keep, my _brother_ included" Elena smiles a little "I do happen to actually like you too Gilbert" I shrug trying to ignore the pounding beat of my heart.

Why am I so nervous around this girl?

"You do huh?" she asks me with a smirk and I nod my head in confirmation "So, what do you say Salvatore? Friends?" she holds out her hand and I look down at with a nervous smile before shaking it.

"Friends" I agree, clutching her hand tightly that just fits so perfectly into my own. Trying to ignore how soft it feels. I hold on to her hand for a moment too long before reluctantly pulling away with a small smile on my lips "You know, my brother and your friends will not be happy about this" I smirk.

Elena shrugs, her own grin on her face "I don't really care" I smile back but frown a little when I notice the smile fall straight from her lips as she looks behind my shoulder "Jeremy?!"

I turn around confused and notice Vicki's new friend walking towards us looking skeptic and that's when I realize how I recognize him.

Jeremy _Gilbert_. Elena's younger _brother._

Fuck.

"What are you doing around here?!" she asks him annoyed "Is that a cigarette in your hand!" she gaps in shock and I cringe. Oh dear.

Jeremy actually looks a little guilty but that soon changes to embarrassment and him being a little mortified at Elena being here and talking to him as if he was twelve years old.

"Yes. So what?" Jeremy gives her plenty of attitude and that really pisses _me_ off.

"So _what?!" _Elena gasps in shock "Do you hear yourself right now? You're smoking? Hanging around back here with these-" she stops herself and glances at me. I shrug innocently and she glares "Since when were you _friends_ with my brother?" she asks annoyed and I can tell that her anger has been redirected at me.

_Great_.

Our make-up didn't last long.

"In my defense, I did _not_ know he was your brother" I tell her while holding my hands up in the air in front of my defensively and take a step back. I am not getting involved in sibling stuff. Nah uh. No way.

"How can you be so stupid to get yourself involved in this gang stuff?" Elena is back on Jeremy now and I breathe a silent sigh of relief.

"You can't control my life Elena! These guys are my friends!" Jeremy argues and almost feel like I'm intruding but I've noticed that the other guys as well as Vicki are all standing around now watching this sibling fight play out.

"No" Elena shakes her head furiously "You are not to hang out here with _these_ people anymore!" she grabs on his arm and attempts to pull him away with her but Jeremy stands his ground. "Jere, I _mean_ it"

I notice that Jeremy is refusing to back down and I can't take the flustered look on Elena's face much longer as she looks around to see us all watching.

"Go with your sister, Gilbert!" I step forward and tell him seriously, pushing his shoulder slightly in Elena's direction.

Jeremy actually looks shocked that I'm siding with his sister and not him. "What?"

"You heard me" I tell him in a firm tone, showing that I am _not_ to be messed with "You _leave_, and you stay _away_"

"Whoa hold on" Vicki interrupts and steps forward but I shoot her down with a glare.

"Go"

I watch him pull his arm out of Elena's grasp furiously before storming away, Elena sends me a grateful smile in thanks and I nod my head before she walks away, chasing after her brother no doubt.

"Damon what the fuck?!" Vicki shouts at me furiously "You can't just come back here and decide who gets to hang out here! This isn't last year! You aren't in charge of us anymore!" oh she is angry.

I don't say anything and hold my ground and Vicki actually looks a little flustered by my silence.

No one else says anything. No one else challenges her.

Or challenges me.

"Tyler?" she turns to him looking helpless and I've already realized that Tyler was the one who took over my role in the group when I left. Someone had to make the decisions.

"Whatever Damon says goes" Tyler tells her firmly before nodding his head at me. I nod back in appreciation at his loyalty and Vicki groans in frustration before storming away.

The small group dissemble and go back to doing their own thing around the shed and Tyler walks up to me with his hands stuffed in his pockets "You know, Jeremy is a good kid, he wouldn't cause us any trouble" he tell me and I realize that they were probably friends.

"Exactly" I nod my head "He's a good kid, the last thing he needs is to be involved with us lot" I tell Tyler who lets out a small laugh.

"Are you sure this has nothing to do with him being Elena's brother?" he asks me with a smirk.

I roll my eyes and push past him.

Don't be so stupid.

* * *

"Hey Elena! Wait up!" I stop at the edge of my car in the school parking lot and turn to see Damon jogging towards me "Hey" he stops with a smile, a little breathless.

"Hi" I smile back, glad that he's over the whole avoidance thing.

"I just wanted to say sorry about before, with your brother, I honestly had no idea" he actually looks a little guilty and I realize that he mustn't be used to apologizing to people.

"It's not your fault. He's been hanging around with Vicki Donovan a lot lately, I just didn't realize it was with her friends as well" I sigh before cringing slightly "Sorry, I guess they're your friends too…"

"Nah" he shakes his head with a smirk "I don't have any friends _remember_"

"Shut up" I roll my eyes and let out a small laugh as I unlock my car door "You want a ride?"

I notice Damon looks surprised by my offer and looks around the car park before eventually nodding his head "Sure, why not"

I grin and we both get in and once we get on the road we start to talk again, just about random things, books and school mostly.

"So what happened to _your_ car?" I ask Damon curiously. "I never used to see you go anywhere without it"

Damon shrugs a little before answering "It got _confiscated_ as one of my many punishments from Daddy Dearest for being a delinquent son" he says it so casually almost as if he's not bothered at all but I remember Stefan telling me once how much Damon loved his Camaro "I think it's in storage somewhere, maybe, hopefully, that or he got it crushed. Good old Giuseppe loves to make a _statement_" he rolls his eyes.

"You're not close with your father are you?" I question hoping that he doesn't snap at me for being nosy "Not like Stefan is anyway"

"That's because Stefan can't see what is right in front of him, the guy is a controlling asshole" he mutters bitterly.

"He's still your father though Damon" I attempt to reason but Damon isn't having it.

"He doesn't act like one!" he snaps annoyed and I sigh backing down. "Sorry" Damon mumbles guiltily. "I just hate that Stefan doesn't see what I see" I see him from the corner of my eye run a hand down his face "What I _saw_"

I turn my head to face him and notice the solemn look on his face and it makes me feel sad. Like I wish I could just take away even just a tiny piece of this boy's pain away because he doesn't deserve it.

"You want to go get dinner somewhere?" I change the subject and watch as Damon turns to look at me surprised. "I mean, I'm hungry? Are you not hungry?" I feel nervous and scared at the same time that he is going to reject me.

Sure we've hung out at school, but never outside of it.

"I'm supposed to have dinner with Giuseppe and Stefan tonight" Damon eventually answers me and I don't know why I'm so disappointed by this.

"That's ok" I force a smile that is too wide as I try to mask my disappointment.

"But" Damon continues with a grin "There is nothing I enjoy more than pissing off my Dad, so sure, dinner sounds great!" he tells me enthusiastically and I can't help but laugh.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be responsible for getting you into trouble"

"Are you kidding?" Damon smirks "Do you really think I'd rather spend my night with Giuseppe Salvatore over a beautiful girl like you?" I blush immediately, my heart pounding against my chest "Besides, I'm always in trouble, might as well give him a reason to be pissed that I can enjoy"

"Fine" I laugh and go to pull into the carpark of the Grille but Damon presses his hand on my arm.

"Nah uh" he shakes his head "Not here, keep driving. I'll direct you"

I frown a little but do as he says anyway. Following his directions without question as he takes us further towards the other side of town.

* * *

"Ok, where the hell are we?" I look around skeptically as I pull up into a deserted carpark of some bar just outside of town.

"Trust me" Damon smirks as climb out and walk towards the entrance, Damon's hand pressed on my lower back and I bite on my bottom lip as I try and ignore the feeling it's giving me.

We walk inside and the bar is surprisingly quite nice, it's also a little busy in contrast to the deserted lot outside. There's a mixture of people in here, some old men sitting smoking in the corner while playing card games but there's also some younger people too.

It's a little rough and has a slight edge to it but it's not a hole, which is good.

How come I've never noticed this place before?

Damon walks us over to the bar, his hand still on my back and stands protectively behind me as I lean against the bar in front. "The burgers here are to die for" he leans down and speaks into my ear causing me to shiver a little.

I nod my head in acknowledgement as the bartender walks towards us, looking at me with a smirk and I realize he is checking me out.

"What can I get you gorgeous?" he asks me with a grin before winking for good measure making me cringe. I'm surprised however when Damon's hand leaves my back and he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me against him.

"Two cheeseburgers with fries, please" Damon sends him the fakest smile ever and the bartender quickly glances at him finally noticing that I'm not alone. I notice his smile fades slightly, maybe thinking that Damon is my boyfriend or something, before nodding his head "Oh and two beers!" Damon calls after him and I turn my head to look up at him with a frown.

"I'm driving" I tell him sternly, not even surprised that the bartender didn't bother to ID us. Damon has some sort of eerie power held around him that tends to make other people listen to what he says without question.

"Don't worry about it" Damon waves me off like it's no big deal "One beer won't hurt, and if you want more, we'll take a cab home and I'll come with you to pick up your car tomorrow" his arm is still wrapped around my shoulder. "Tonight, Elena Gilbert, you and I are going to have fun!" he grins at me "I know that is a difficult concept for you to grasp, but fuck the consequences for once and just _enjoy yourself_!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask offended "I have fun!"

"Right" Damon laughs as the bartender hands us over our beers and he takes a quick swig. "I'm sure cheer practice three times a week is very _exhilarating_ and then of course the big game on Friday nights! My bad, nothing can be more fun than freezing your ass in a skimpy dress on a muddy field watching our pathetic excuse of a football team get their asses kicked every week!"

"Shut up, ass!" I laugh while shaking his head but knowing he has a point.

Damon has _lived_, sure most of that has got him into trouble and with a bullet wound in his chest but at least he knows that there is more to life than after school events and what would look good on college applications.

"You know I'm right" Damon grins at me as we walk over to an empty booth and sit across from each other.

"Of course, _Damon_" I roll my eyes "You're _always_ right, _Damon_" I do my best ditsy impression and he smirks at me just as a waiter brings over our food.

I take a bite into the burger and well wouldn't you know.

Damon is actually right.

"Good huh?" he smirks at me and I pick up a fry from my plate and throw it off him, causing him to laugh loudly.

I love that sound.

The thought surprises me and I find myself stealing glances at the older Salvatore while he's too busy eating to notice. I feel my cheeks heat up just staring at him and I look down at my food in embarrassment at the thoughts that crosses my mind.

There's no denying Damon is attractive. I mean, _look_ at him.

His stunning blue eyes alone are just…wow.

Not my type.

No.

Definitely not.

I hate myself that the thought even crosses my mind, he is my boyfriend's _brother_ for God's sake!

"Come on" Damon interrupts me from my thoughts and gets out of the booth "Let's go get some more drinks and then I'll beat your ass at pool!" he smirks.

"Oh please, you have no idea how good I am!" I argue as I let him take hold of my hand and lead me towards the bar. He orders us another two beers and I surprise him, and myself, when I lean over the bar to add two shots to the order. "What?" I smile at Damon innocently who is looking at me surprised "I can have fun you know Salvatore"

Damon chuckles and shakes his head as the bartender passes over our drinks and we clink our shot glasses together before downing them.

Screw tomorrow. Tonight we're going to have fun.

* * *

"YES!" I jump up and down with a squeal as I beat Damon _again_ at pool! "That's four to one Salvatore!" I smirk at him before taking another drink from my beer. I've lost count how many we've had now as well as the shots. All I do know though is that I feel so _good_ right now.

Damon rolls his eyes and walks around the table to stand in front of me "Please, don't get ahead of yourself Elena, I went easy on you" he tells me while leaning forward and trapping me between his body and the pool table. I notice that one of his hands lands on my hip and I gulp slightly as I look up at him.

His eyes are _so_ blue.

I tap his chest and shake my head with a smirk "Keep telling yourself that!"

Damon laughs and steps back, his hand falling from my hip and I can't help but miss the touch already.

Maybe it's just the alcohol.

"Come on Gilbert, loser has to buy the next round remember?" he motions for me to follow him to the bar.

"Is that why you've bought every round since we got here? Because you're a big fat _loser_!" I do the L shape with my fingers on top of my head and Damon laughs and rolls his eyes before ordering us two more beers.

"Excuse me, Elena, but I have been the _perfect_ gentleman to you tonight! I've bought all your drinks, your food and I even let you kick my ass at pool!" he hands me another beer and I smirk at him before taking a sip, my eyes never leaving his. "The least you can do is be gracious in your victory"

"Oh please, like you wouldn't gloat if you had kicked _my_ ass!" I accuse him with a grin and place my hand in his and pull him towards me before leaning up and whispering in his ear "I bet you wouldn't act like a gentleman then Salvatore"

I feel him shiver against me as I pull away but leaving our hands linked together.

"I like you like this" Damon tells me with a soft tone to his voice and I look up at him to see a small smile on his lips. His eyes are shining bright and he actually looks like he doesn't have a care in the world. It's nice. It suits him.

"Well I like _you_ like this" I tell him back with a grin and I don't know what possesses me to this but I wrap my other hand that's still holding the bottle around the back of his neck and play with the ends of his hair "You look so _happy_ and relaxed" I tell him softly "I wish you could be like this all the time, I wish you never have to feel like you need to keep yourself guarded to avoid being hurt" he steps closer to me and his spare arm wraps around my waist as he looks directly into my eyes "I hate that you got hurt, Damon"

Damon gulps slightly and looks down but I unlock our hands and place my hand on his chin, lifting his head back up to face me "You don't have to be afraid with _me_" I tell him honestly "Don't forget that Damon, _ever_"

He nods his head ever so slowly without breaking our stare and I swear that there are tears in his eyes. I run my hand across his cheek and it caress it with my thumb, enjoying the feeling of his skin touching mine. He squeezes my waist tighter and pulls me even closer so our bodies are flushed against each other.

"Elena" he whispers quietly and I gulp at the tone of his voice before he goes to continue.

However the moment is ruined when a recognizable voice interrupts us "Well, Well, what do we have here?" I immediately jump backwards out of Damon's grip and turn to face Rebekah with a scowl.

"_What_?" Damon snaps at her in annoyance.

Rebekah looks between us both with a smirk on a face "Elena Gilbert" she literally eyes me up and down "I never thought I would see you in a place like this, never mind with _him_" she spits the last part out coldly and I watch as Damon just stands and glares at her.

"Go away before I make you" Damon hisses at her before I can say anything. Rebekah however doesn't listen so instead Damon grabs my arm and pulls me towards the exit of the bar.

We get outside, the cold night air hitting us immediately and I suddenly realize what Rebekah would have saw back then.

Fuck.

"Shit" I run my hand through my hair in a panic and Damon turns to look at me with a frown.

"What?"

"Rebekah…she just saw…" I stutter my words out, my words all tangled up and my brain all frazzled because of the amount of alcohol I have consumed.

"She saw nothing" Damon steps in front of me and places both of his hands firmly on my shoulders "We're friends, Elena, two friends who have just had a really great fun night" he tells me sternly and I slowly nod my head in agreement "Don't let that bitch turn this into something that is not, ok?"

"Ok" I nod my head and force a smile and Damon looks at me for a couple more seconds before removing his hands and stepping back.

"I'll call a cab" Damon tells me while pulling out his cellphone and walking away a little.

I realize that I haven't even bothered to check my phone all night and pull it out of my pocket to see that I have numerous missed calls and texts.

Shit.

Most of them are from Stefan, a few from my Aunt Jenna and a couple from Bonnie, Caroline and Jeremy. Crap. I realize that it is really late and I didn't let anyone know that I wasn't coming home straight from school.

They must be worried.

I feel bad and send out a quick group text to all of them to let them know that I'm ok and that I'm sorry for worrying them.

My phone flashes just a minute later and it's Stefan that's calling me. I debate on whether or not to answer, not sure whether or not to tell him that the reason I went AWOL all evening was because I was at a bar drinking with his older brother but my decision is made for me when Damon walks back towards me.

"It won't be long" he smiles and I can't help but smile back "You going to answer that?" he asks motioning to my vibrating phone in my hand.

"Nah" I shake my head with a smile "The real world can wait until tomorrow"

* * *

**So, there it is! Thank you again so so much to everyone who reviewed, you really do inspire me to write more and help me get the next chapters written so I can update faster! It does help so again thank you!**

**Until next time peeps :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

I groan when someone knocks on my door far too early. I peel my eyes open, feeling a little rough from the amount of alcohol I had consumed the night before glancing at my alarm clock. 6:35am it reads and I sigh in frustration. My alarm isn't set until another hour!

"Elena?" my bedroom door slowly opens and Jenna creeps in still in her dressing gown.

"Jenna? What are you doing? It's early!" I moan and dig my head into my pillow.

"I know but you have a visitor," she tells me while glancing back nervously.

"What? Who?" I sit up slowly with a squint.

Jenna shuts my bedroom door behind her and kneels down next to me and whispers harshly "Want to tell me why Damon Salvatore is in our house? Is that the _friend_ you were out with last night?"

Damon's here?

I sit up and run my hand through my messy hair "Yes, he's who I was with last night," I watch as her jaw drops a little in shock "What?" I ask confused "Why does that bother you?"

"It's Damon _Salvatore_, ok I know I'm supposed to be a responsible adult now but I can't help but overhear gossip! You _know_ what I'm talking about Elena."

I roll my eyes while climbing out of bed "You should know better than to listen to the stories in this town," I remind her knowing that her reputation here isn't exactly perfect "Besides, Damon is just…misunderstood, he's a nice guy, ask your boyfriend if you don't believe me."

"Oh and what about _your_ boyfriend? What does he think about you gallivanting around town with his bad boy older brother behind his back?"

"We weren't gallivanting and it wasn't behind Stefan's back," I defend myself in annoyance "We just hung out." I try to make it out to not be a big deal "Now can you excuse me I need to get dressed"

"Fine, fine!" Jenna holds up her hands in defence as she steps back towards my bedroom door "I'm just worried you're going to get involved with the wrong crowd."

"Jenna, I'm still _me._" I smile at her reassuringly and she lets out a breath of relief before nodding and leaving the room.

Now, what should I wear?

* * *

15 minutes later and I'm downstairs in record time fully dressed to see Damon and my Aunt Jenna laughing in the kitchen.

Hmm, is this the same Aunt who just scolded me for hanging out with him?!

"Ahem." I cough interrupting and they both turn to face me with smiles on their faces and I even see a blush on Jenna's cheeks! Yes, she's blushing!

"Elena," Damon grins at me "Did you forget about our homework assignment we were going to do before school today?" he questions innocently and I raise my eyebrow.

"Sorry, it must have slipped my mind." I shrug not giving anything away.

Damon chuckles under his breath before turning back to my Aunt "Well Jenna, it was an absolute _pleasure_ meeting you." he takes her hand and presses a kiss on her knuckles causing Jenna to blush even harder and let out an embarrassed giggle that makes her look as young as a 13 year old school girl.

I roll my eyes a little amused before walking forward and grabbing Damon's arm, pulling him towards my front door.

"Seriously?" I ask astonished as we walk down the steps of my porch "You're flirting with my Aunt? You do know she is dating Mr Saltzman, right?"

"Oh come on Elena, I was just being polite!" Damon immediately defends himself but he has a sneaky smirk on his lips.

"Urgh whatever! It's way too early for this." I moan as we stop at a car that is parked outside my house and I'm surprised to see Tyler Lockwood sitting in the driver's seat. I turn to face Damon confused.

"We need someone to give us a ride to your car right?" he questions before opening the door and climbing into the front seat but I can even reply. I sigh before climbing into the back.

"Tyler." I acknowledge him reluctantly as I fasten my seatbelt in. I've never been a fan of his.

"Elena." Tyler smirks at me through the mirror as he pulls away "Always a _pleasure _to have you in the backseat of my car." he winks at me and I look at him in disgust before Damon swings his arm out and punches Tyler in the shoulder.

"Just shut up and drive Lockwood!" he glares at him and now I'm the one smirking when Tyler immediately shuts up and puts his eyes on the road.

It doesn't take long for us to get to the bar we visited last night and I reluctantly thank Tyler for the ride before jumping out and I'm a little surprised but pleased when Damon gets out with me and decides to travel back with me.

"Best step on it Gilbert," he tells me as we pull out of the parking lot "Don't want to be late for school! I bet you have a 100% punctuality record." he mocks me slightly and I roll my eyes.

"Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?" I pout slightly "I'll have you know, my education is very important to me!"

"Oh I know it is Elena," I see him smirk from the corner of my eye "I bet you already have your college applications written out."

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared!" I defend myself "Besides, I'm not a total nerd…in case you have forgotten, I got drunk in a bar last night!"

"_Please_" Damon scoffs "That was one night, Elena! I still think you need to loosen up a little more and have fun!"

"I _have_ fun!" I argue "Just because our ideas of _fun_ differ a little doesn't mean I don't still have it!"

"Whatever you say Elena," Damon smirks at me before continuing "So…is my little bro aware that we went out last night?" he asks me curiously and I freeze a little.

"I may have mentioned we hung out…" I answer feeling a little awkward talking about Stefan "I may have missed out the alcohol parts…I just said we went for food and played some pool and that we lost track of time."

I see Damon nod his head from the corner of my eye "Probably for the best, my brother is a bit of a fun sponge."

"He is not!" I immediately defend my boyfriend but Damon isn't having it.

"Hi, my name is Stefan Salvatore, I'm the star football player with A* grades in every subject, I'm dating the perfect cheerleader and every college in the state is chasing me to play for their school. I don't drink, take drugs or get into any kind of trouble. I'm a model student and when I grow up I'm going to marry my high school sweetheart, live in a big house with a white picket fence, have 3 kids and a dog named Buster." Damon puts on some kind of voice that I am assuming is supposed to be his impression of Stefan. "Need I go on?"

I shake my head with a small smile "And what is wrong with that?"

"Are you _kidding _me?!" Damon asks me in disbelief and I shrug. It sounds like the perfect life to me. "Um, where is all the passion? The adventure?"

Now I'm rolling my eyes "That stuff doesn't exist Damon, we're not in a movie."

"Wow," Damon seems genuinely shocked as I pull into the high school and drive towards my usual parking space "What a boring life you will lead Elena Gilbert."

"Oh yeah?" I challenge him "And what are your plans for the future? Have you even _thought_ about it?"

Damon shrugs and we stay seated in my car after I've parked. I turn my body slightly to face him and send him a challenging adventure.

"Maybe I'll travel, I might even go to college. I try not to live in the future."

"And marriage? Kids? You don't want a dog named Buster?"

Damon laughs at little and shrugs "Maybe," he looks directly at me and I can't help but gulp slightly at his intense stare "If the right girl comes along, why not?"

"Oh but won't that be boring? Settling down, living a normal life?" I challenge him even more and Damon actually smirks at me.

"Nope." he says without pulling his eyes away from mine "Because if I marry someone, it will be someone who I know won't bore me. It'll be for all the right reasons. I want a love that consumes me, full of passion, and adventure and maybe even a little danger." I'm frozen, staring at him as I take in his words "If it doesn't have any of that then what's the point? I won't settle, Elena, and you shouldn't either."

He steps out of the car before I can even say anything else. Not that I think I would even be able to say anything after that.

I'm a little disappointed when I finally pull myself together and get out of the car to see that Damon didn't wait for me. I guess he has no reason too, we don't have first period together anyway.

"Elena!" I turn around to see Bonnie and Caroline walking towards me. "Was that Damon Salvatore that just got out of your car?" Caroline asks me surprised and I shrug.

"I gave him a ride." I say like it's no big deal, not understanding why everyone seems to have a problem with me being friends with Damon. He really isn't that bad.

"Wait is he the _friend_ you lost track of time with last night?" Bonnie questions suspiciously and I roll my eyes with a sigh as we walk towards our lockers.

"Yes, so what? We hung out, we're friends!" I say defensively.

"You _so_ need to introduce me to him again!" Caroline squeals in delight and I frown a little annoyed and I don't know why "He hasn't spoken to me since the other week when he came over to say hello to me! I think he is playing hard to get."

Doubt it.

Geez, what the hell is wrong with me.

"Does Stefan know about this?" Bonnie questions me immediately.

"Does Stefan need to know when I hang out with Matt?" I throw back without missing a beat.

"Elena," Bonnie sighs as we stop at our locker "You know this is different." she says in a warning tone.

"No, I don't actually." I answer back not even bothering to hide my annoyance. "How's it different?"

"He's Damon Salvatore." Bonnie tells me like that's all the explanation that I need.

"So? I'm Elena Gilbert, you're Bonnie Bennett, I don't see your point." I throw back and Bonnie is now starting to look annoyed now too. We're going round in circles here.

"Uh" Caroline interrupts us both "Can we stop this? Elena likes Damon, Bonnie doesn't like Damon, Elena and Damon will be friends anyway, I want to be _more_ than friends with Damon, Stefan won't like any of this but we'll all get on with it anyway." she speaks so fast I can barely keep up with her "And can we please hurry up and get to class? I want to get a good seat."

Caroline ends our discussion but from the look on Bonnie's face I'm guessing this conversation is only over for now.

* * *

I look down at my ringing cell phone and quickly hit the ignore button. Giuseppe has been trying to get his hands on me all day. I guess he is still pissed at me for skipping school and then skipping our 'family' dinner last night.

Oops. My bad.

I smile a little when I think back to the night before. I've only known Elena for a short while but I wish I had known her longer. There is something about her that I can't put my finger on but I know that I just want to spend all my time with her, I mean of course she is beautiful, _stunning_ even, but that doesn't even have anything to do with it. It's like she gets me, as cheesy as that sounds, but it's the truth. I feel like I can be myself around her and it's a strange feeling.

I've never felt like this before with anyone, not even Katherine.

At first it scared me, that I have the potential to be so vulnerable around someone, especially since she's my brothers girlfriend, but things change and now I've decided to embrace it. Mr Saltzman is right; I could use a real friend.

"Salvatore!"

I turn around by my locker and look up to see Tyler and one of our gang members Shaun walking towards us. I nod my head at them in greeting and notice that they both look around to make sure no one is listening.

"Still on for tonight?" Tyler asks me quietly and I nod my head.

"Of course," I reply, looking across to the other side of the hallway to see Kol laughing with his pals "You said his parents leave to go watch the game every Friday night at six?"

"Yes." Shaun nods his head "They have dinner at the Grill then head straight over to the High School. My sister works there and she says they have the same routine every home game. They never miss one, Rebekah is their pride and joy, since none of the boys joined the football team they rely on her being a cheerleader to get involved with the team."

"Of course." I roll my eyes thinking how much of a pissing contest the older generation in Mystic Falls have when it comes to social events and who gets the most involved. "And Kol?"

"He won't stay home on a Friday night," Tyler tells me "He'll no doubt be up to trouble with his gang and the rest of the Mikealson's are away at college or just…away." he mumbles the last part and I'm guessing he is talking about Klaus.

"Ok good job boys." I nod my head in appreciation "We'll meet at Tyler's at six, get to their house about quarter past and we'll all be back here at school at seven just in time to watch the game where the entire town can see us when Vicki throws a brick through their window to make it look like forced entry and _that_ is when the house alarm will go off." I smirk.

"Sounds like a plan," Tyler grins widely. "We'll have most of the town as our alibi and no one is going to suspect a 17 year old girl could do what we're going to do on her own."

I almost rub my hands in glee. _Almost__._

* * *

Its quarter past six when we get to the Mikaelson house and everything is going to plan so far. We use Rebekah's key that Vicki stole for us without a problem and I quickly type in the code to the alarm.

The date Papa Mikaelson won state championship. So predictable. Giuseppe uses the same code.

Me, Tyler and Shaun take the bottom floor and we send the rest of the boys upstairs. It's simply a case of see and destroy, we don't think about it, we just do.

I walk into the living room and pull my hat from my head when I see a photo of Klaus hanging up on the wall. I take it down and stare at it, my gloved hand tightening around the frame as I look down at his smug face. I shake my head before throwing it down onto the floor and stamping on it repeatedly, doing the same to the rest of the photos in the room so it's not obvious who this is directed at.

I throw about some furniture and smash some expensive looking antiques before looking down at my watch.

Time's up.

I go back to the parlour where everyone else is waiting for me and we're about to sneak back out when something stops me.

"Go without me, I'll meet you at the game." I tell them before running up the stairs.

"Damon-" Tyler argues but I cut him off.

"Go!"

They do and I'm left alone as I walk through the second floor hallway and eventually find my destination.

Klaus's bedroom.

I walk inside and smile when I notice my boys have done a good job at trashing the place. I step over broken glass and all the clutter on the floor. I open up some draws, pulling out clothes, not really knowing what I'm searching for but hoping I might find something.

Anything.

I freeze when I come across a photo.

Of Katherine.

She is laughing and I realise that the photo was taken right here in this bedroom. I pick up the photo and holding it my shaking hands as I look down at her beaming face.

She looks so…

Happy.

I shake my head and snap out of my trance and look over at the wall hanging in Klaus's room. It reads that it's 10 to seven and I realise I have to get out of here now because I'll already be late for the game since I don't even have a ride. I pull my hat back over my head and smash anything I go past on my way back to the entrance for good measure.

I quickly turn the alarm back on and open the front door, making sure that no one is around I lock it behind me and walk quickly down the driveway.

"Damon?"

I freeze and turn around before letting out a sigh of relief when I see that it's just Vicki. Except she's not alone.

"What's he doing here?!" I hiss furiously motioning to Jeremy Gilbert who is standing next to her!

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Vicki argues back immediately "You should have left ages ago!"

I groan and look around to make sure that no one is watching us "You," I point at Jeremy "Come with me, _now._" Jeremy glances at Vicki for a moment looking for reassurance but I just reach over and grab his arm and pull him along with me "Come on Gilbert, I won't tell you twice!"

"Look man, I promise that I won't tell anyone." Jeremy tries to convince me but I'm not having it.

"I don't care, we're leaving!" I snap at him and drag him along and turn back to face Vicki as we're walking away "Wait 30 minutes before you do anything! Do _not_ fuck this up!" I warn her.

Vicki glares at me before pulling her hood over her head and walks up the Mikealson's driveway.

I ask her to do _one_ thing. Just one.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to rely on anyone else but myself.

* * *

The game started 10 minutes ago and already we're losing. I try my best to cheer and give my support to the team but it's hard when it's a freezing cold October night and I'm wearing a skimpy short revealing uniform.

Sometimes I wonder why I'm a cheerleader. This is not my idea of fun.

My eyes travel away from the game and scan the crowd and I'm not surprised by how busy it is. Most of the town turns up for these games. I am however surprised when I see Tyler Lockwood and the rest of Damon's old gang hovering around the edge of the bleachers. They hardly ever come to these games.

I notice that Damon isn't there and I'm glad, he doesn't need to hang around those boys anymore, he is so much better than the lot of them put together.

However my relief doesn't last long when I look back over them a few minutes later and there is Damon walking over to them with Jeremy by his side!

I frown immediately and stop cheering. What the hell is he doing there? And why is Damon allowing it? I thought he agreed with me on this one!

I notice that Caroline and the rest of the girls won't notice my absence if I sneak off and I quickly make my way over to where they are standing.

"What is this?!" I ask annoyed and both Damon and Jeremy swing around to face me looking a little startled.

"Lookin good Elena." one of the boys who I recognize to be a sophomore smirks at me with a wink and I look at him disgustedly, suddenly feeling a little too revealing around all these guys in my uniform.

"Shut the hell up!" Damon swings back around to face him and glares at him furiously and now I can't help but smirk as the kid is almost literally cowering in his boots. "Leave, now." I watch a little impressed as they all turn and walk up the bleachers to find a seat but I go back to being annoyed when I realize why I came over here in the first place.

"What's this?!" I cross my arms and look at them with a raised eyebrow before turning my attention onto my brother "I thought you agreed to stay away from these guys?" I ask him in disbelief.

"What do you care?" Jeremy asks me annoyed "You don't get to tell me what to do Elena! I can hang out with whoever I want." He tells me stubbornly and I frown.

"Why do I care?" I ask him in disbelief "You're my little brother! I'm trying to look after you, protect you!"

"Protect me from what? Don't be a hypocrite; I know you've been hanging out with Damon." Jeremy glares at me and I send a glance to the dark haired Salvatore who is awkwardly trying to pretend that his attention is on the game but I'm very much aware that he is listening to every word.

"That's different." I'm caught off guard a little and Jeremy notices.

"Right." He lets out a sarcastic laugh while shaking his head "See you later Elena." He pulls his hood over his head and walks up the bleachers to join the rest of the gang.

I sigh and run my hand down my face in annoyance.

"Don't worry about him." Damon walks a little closer to me "I'll make sure he stays out of trouble, I promise." He smiles softly and I don't know why but I instantly believe him.

"You'd do that?"

"Of course I would," Damon grins "You're my friend, Elena. _Speaking_ of friends, why am I getting glared at right now by one of yours as if I'd just kicked a kitten?" he asks motioning towards where the cheerleaders stand to see that Bonnie is looking over at us with a glare.

I sigh and turn back to Damon with a shrug "Ignore her. She doesn't seem to like that we're friends."

"Ah, I'm a bad influence, right?" he chuckles and I grab a hold of his hand and lead him around to the back of the bleachers to get some privacy away from everyone's prying eyes. "Oh, keeping me a secret are you? I like it! Talk about living on the edge!" he mocks me and I glare at him before swatting him on the chest.

"Stop being an ass!" I scowl at him but when he laughs I can't help but laugh with him.

Like I keep saying, it's contagious!

I watch confused as he takes off his leather jacket and then the woolen hat he is wearing and hands them both to me, leaving him in just his black sweatshirt. "Here, take it." He pretty much forces them into my hands and I don't know why but my stomach has butterflies "You look freezing, why they make you wear this stuff is beyond me."

"Thanks" I smile shyly and put on his jacket before pulling the hat down my head, covering my cold ears. I immediately feel better and warm and snuggled and Damon smiles at me widely and I can't help but blush. "What?"

"Nothing." He grins "You just look cute." He shrugs and I feel my face heating up even more "In all seriousness, Elena, can I ask you a question?" he shuffles on his feet a little.

"Sure?"

"Why do you do it?"

"Do what?" I ask confused.

"Cheerleading." He says like it's the most obvious thing in the world "I've seen you at practice, you look miserable! You _hate_ it."

"I don't _hate_ it" I try and defend myself but I know there's no use. It seems like Damon can always see right through me. "Ok fine," I sigh looking at the challenging smirk on his face "Maybe I don't enjoy it as much as I should."

"So then why don't you quit?"

"I can't." I frown.

"Why not?"

Why can't I just quit? I find every practice a chore and spending my Friday night's in this skimpy uniform, revealed in front of the entire town just makes me feel uncomfortable.

"I…I don't know," I mumble quietly "My Mom was a cheerleader, I guess I just figured I should follow in her footsteps and make her proud." I smile sadly when I think about her.

"I bet she'd be proud of you either way," He smiles softly at me and takes a step closer and runs his hand down my arm leather coated arm "If she's anything like you, I'm sure she'd want you to do what makes you happy, Elena."

I gulp a little as I take in his words. How can a boy who is this amazing be as misunderstood as he is? I find it insane that people warn me away from him and say that he is bad news, how can they not see what I see?

"Thank you." I whisper quietly and it's not until Damon's thumb is on my cheek when I realize that I'm crying.

"Hey," he whispers and wipes away my tears "Don't cry, Elena." His other hand caresses the back of my neck and I close my eyes as another tear falls.

"I miss her so much." A small sob escapes my lips as I think about how cruelly my parents were taken away from me so suddenly and too young. They didn't deserve to die; they should still be here, with me and with Jeremy.

"I know you do." Damon wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug and I lean against his firm chest "It's ok to cry, Elena." He says soothingly into my ear as he runs a hand through my hair that falls out from the bottom of his hat while the other wraps around my waist.

"I'm sorry," I pull away from him and wipe my eyes. "This is so embarrassing!" I realize that I probably have mascara running down my cheeks and that I look a state but Damon doesn't seem to care. "God I must look a mess." I cringe at myself while continuing to wipe my face.

"You look beautiful." He says in the most genuine tone I've ever heard and my heart literally flutters.

What is happening to me?

I don't say anything and we stand in silence for a moment but it's not awkward. I jump slightly when we hear loud cheers and I realize that there is game still going on and if Caroline hadn't noticed me sneak off before, she probably definitely notices my absence now.

I remember that we have a routine at half time and it must be coming up. I reluctantly pull off Damon's hat, the cold air immediately attacking my ears and go to hand it over him but Damon holds his hand out.

"Keep it." He smiles "You need it more than I do."

"As much as I would like to, because it's so warm and comfy, Caroline would not appreciate me taking part in her new routine wearing a hat and a leather jacket." I chuckle a little at the thought of my best friend freaking out if I did go back like this.

Damon laughs a little with me and nods his head in agreement and takes his hat back, immediately putting it back over his head and I don't know why but it makes me smile.

I sigh a little in disappointment before finally taking off his leather jacket and passing it back. Instead Damon decides to carry this and I immediately wrap my arms around myself as we both reluctantly make our way back around the bleachers and back to the corner of the field, out in the open, back to prying eyes.

Back to the real world.

Damon smiles at me before walking up the steps to sit with his friends without saying anything, leaving me standing alone for a couple of seconds before I eventually make my way back to the rest of the cheer squad.

I look up at the big bright scoreboard and I'm surprised to see that we are tied and luckily I've made it back with a couple of minutes to spare before half time.

No one says anything when I sneak back behind the girls, picking up my discarded pom poms on the way, but I think Caroline has noticed my disappearing act so I try to think of a suitable excuse to use.

"What are you doing, Elena?" Bonnie steps back beside me, her pom poms waving in front of her, a fake smile plastered on her face and I force myself to do the same.

"Not now, Bonnie" I mutter while trying to keep my smile in check. We are in front of pretty much the entire town after all.

"Sneaking off with Damon?"

"We didn't sneak off." I immediately defend myself but I know it's no use.

"Just be careful, Elena." Bonnie turns her head to face me and her smile falters a little "You're my best friend; I don't want you to get hurt."

"Damon won't hurt me, he's my friend." I defend him. I feel like a broken record but I just don't understand why everyone in this town can't see the good in him. It's there, for everyone to see, yet no one can look past the rumors and the gossip and things he may or may not have done in the past.

And of course the shooting incident last spring. That is still pretty high up in the gossip circles.

"He's also your _boyfriend_'_s_ brother." She reminds me and I send a nervous glance towards Stefan who is, as always, concentrating on his game. "I don't want to lecture you, but just think about how this might look to other people, Elena. How it might look to Stefan."

I sigh, waving my pom poms in front of me trying to pretend that we aren't having a serious conversation right now, but knowing deep down that Bonnie is right.

Getting drunk in a bar with my boyfriend's brother, hiding behind bleachers during football games to talk, giving him rides to and from school. It _look's_ bad. I can admit that.

I know it bugged Stefan when I told him that I was with Damon last night, I know it bugs him when I pretty much force a reluctant Damon to sit with us in class, and when I ask him why Damon isn't in school.

I know Stefan doesn't like it. I know my friends don't like it. This whole damn town probably doesn't like it.

But _I_ like it.

Surely that's good enough?

I look over at the bleachers towards Damon and smile a little when I see him and Jeremy laughing at something, they are sitting in the row in front of the rest of Damon's gang, separating themselves a little from them and it makes me smile, because I know that Damon has probably only done this for me.

It's almost as if he knows I'm staring because he turns his head and catches my eye. He smiles and lifts his hand up in a small wave and I can't help but smile widely back.

"Oh no, Elena, no."

"What?" I snap out of my little trance with Damon and look at Bonnie who is looking at me in shock.

"You like him." She says a little stunned.

"Of course I like him," I frown confused "He's my friend."

"No, Elena." She shakes her head and smiles sadly "You _like_ him."

Suddenly the whistle blows for half time, and all the guys are jogging past us to the locker rooms and Caroline is ordering us onto the field to get into our positions before I can even think about Bonnie's words.

I try my best to keep up but I can't concentrate.

Bonnie is being ridiculous. She just doesn't understand my connection with Damon, doesn't _get_ him, and doesn't see what I see in the oldest Salvatore brother.

The routine finishes before I even realize and I can tell from the look Caroline is giving me right now that she noticed that my head wasn't in it.

I glance back at Damon who is watching with a smirk on his face and I blush.

Fuck.

This is not happening.

* * *

**So, does Elena really like Damon as more than just a friend? Bonnie seems to think so!**

**Thank you lots and lots to every one of you who reviewed, its great to read your feedback and your thoughts on the story and like I keep saying it does really help me write more chapters and get them posted up quicker because I look forward to reading what you think!**

**Thanks for reading, see you next time! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

"Hey! HEY! Damon!"

Great.

I turn around and force a fake smile as my Dad walks quickly towards me, a thunderous look on his face. He grabs a hold of my arm and pulls me through the parking lot away from my friends.

"What are you doing?" I shout at him annoyed as I try to pull my arm out of his grasp but he won't budge.

"What am I doing?!" Giuseppe tries not to raise his voice, very aware that there are still some people around after the school parking lot after the game. He pulls me towards his car and pretty much forces me against it, both of his hands gripping each of my arms in a firm hard grasp and I'm not going to lie, it fucking hurts. "What the _hell_ do you think you're playing at boy?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I reply stubbornly and attempt to push him back but he pushes me back against his car with more force, holding me still and unable to move.

"I've just been chatting to the Mikealson's when suddenly they get a phone call from the Sheriff saying that their house has been broken into and trashed!"

"Oh, now that is so unfortunate," I smirk a little with a shrug "I hope you locked our doors before you left."

"Don't play dumb with me boy! Do you really think I'm _that_ stupid? You never come to see your brother play football yet the one time you pretend to show an interest the Mikealson's house just happens to be broken into?" he hisses furiously at me and his grip tightens even more if that were possible "I don't believe in coincidences."

"Well you should, Giuseppe, because the entire town saw me here tonight, supporting my baby bro like a good big brother and believe it or not, not even I can be in two places at once." The smirk has left my lips as the pain on each of my arms is getting worse and I can tell it will bruise in the morning.

Giuseppe shakes his head and looks around to see that the lot is pretty much empty and pulls me from the car before slamming my back against it with too much force. I gasp in pain and again try to escape his grasp but I can't.

"You just remember that one word from me to the Sheriff and you're back to being locked up in a cold prison cell, except this time it will be longer than a day!" he says threateningly "You're still on probation, and in case you have forgotten, whatever _I_ say goes or _you_ end up back inside! Now the skipping school thing? That's going to stop. Hanging around with your old gang? Also going to stop. Breaking into people's houses and trashing it? It's going to fucking stop!"

"Dad?"

I look up to see Stefan, followed by _Elena_, hesitantly walking towards us and Giuseppe immediately lets me go and takes a big step back.

I readjust my leather jacket and shake my arms out a little trying to adjust to the pain and stand up straight away from the car.

"What's going on here?" Stefan glances between us confused and I look at Elena who looks a little nervous…worried, but nervous.

"Nothing son." Giuseppe forces a smile and walks towards my brother "Good game by the way, I'm proud of you." He pats Stefan on the back and I watch my brother smile at the gesture, whatever he saw or may or may not have overheard long forgotten.

I roll my eyes and start walking away because I am so _done_ with all of this.

"Damon!" Giuseppe shouts after me "Get in the car, now. I mean it!"

I freeze and turn back around and see that Giuseppe is back to his angry self but he is trying to control it, probably because Elena is here and he still has a reputation to protect.

I glance at Elena who is biting on her bottom lip and then at Stefan who is looking as confused and clueless as ever.

"I have plans." I attempt to argue, to not storm away because believe it or not my Dad does have power over me. I hate it, but that's the way it is at the moment unfortunately.

"I don't care," He says forcefully "Car. _Now_." I don't move and Giuseppe takes another step towards me "Damon, if you don't get in that car in the next 10 seconds I'm going to call the Sheriff and you'll be locked up before you can even blink!"

"Locked up?" Stefan interrupts "Why? What's he done? Has this got something to do with the Mikaelson house being trashed tonight? I heard some of the boys talking about it."

"Your brother can't seem to stay out of trouble."

I decide to go for a different tactic. I just hope she doesn't hate me for it. "Go on then, call the sheriff, she can't do anything, can't prove anything and besides my alibi is standing right there." I point to Elena whose eyes immediately widen.

"What?" Stefan looks at his girlfriend confused.

"My _alibi,_" I repeat coldly "You know, that person who can prove you weren't at a certain place…at a certain time."

"I know what an alibi is, Damon." Stefan snaps at me annoyed "Why are you bringing Elena into this? Back off. She was cheerleading in front of the entire town tonight, how the hell can she be your alibi? Stop trying to mess with my life!"

Elena doesn't say anything to back me up and I realise it's because she doesn't want her boyfriend to know that she snuck off with his brother during the game.

Understandable, I guess.

Giuseppe sighs loudly deciding that he's had enough "You want to play this game with me, Damon? Then fine. I hope you like prison food!" He pulls out his cell phone and starts to dial in a number and I clasp my knuckles tightly by my side.

"Wait! Wait!" I look surprised to see that it's Elena who speaks and she takes a small step forward nervously "You don't need to call the sheriff, Mr Salvatore." She glances at me hesitantly before continuing "Damon's telling the truth, he was with me tonight."

I send her a grateful smile and she returns it meekly but it falls when she sees the look on Stefan's face.

"Elena? What are you talking about? You were cheerleading tonight, how could you have been with Damon?"

"I snuck off from the girls to talk to him," she cringes slightly as she realises how bad it sounds before turning to my Dad who does not look happy. "Bonnie Bennett can back me up too. If you want to still call the sheriff then go ahead but I will tell Mrs Forbes myself that Damon was with me." She says the last sentence firmly and I can't help but feel impressed that someone, Elena especially, is standing up to my father, for _me_!

"No need, Miss Gilbert." My father frowns looking rather annoyed but trying not to show it before turning to face both me and Stefan. "I want you both home by midnight." He warns before getting into his car without another word and driving away.

I guess we're done here. I turn to walk away but _someone_ _else_ grabs my arm and it hurts immediately. I swing around and push Stefan off of me and he falls straight onto the ground because I use too much force.

"Damon!" Elena gasps and attempts to help her boyfriend up but Stefan has pride and refuses.

"Don't touch me, Stefan!" I hiss down at him angrily "I mean it!"

Stefan jumps straight to his feet and goes towards me but Elena grabs on his arm tugging him back. "Stay away from my girlfriend; I don't know what game you're playing, Damon, but you leave her the hell out of it!"

Why does everything have to be a game to him?

I'm sick of everyone always assuming the worst of me! Why can't Elena and I just be friends without everyone thinking I have an ulterior motive?

When I don't say anything Stefan takes it as a sign of me backing down and steps closer to me "I mean it, stay away from her and stay away from me!" he takes a hold of Elena's hand and pulls her away from me and she goes without question.

I frown, wondering if she is starting to believe that I am just _using_ her for something and I immediately start to doubt everything that has happened between us.

But then she turns her head around and sends me an apologetic look and I realise that of course she knows that I'm not playing with her, but at the end of the day, she's always going to side with Stefan, isn't she?

Her _boyfriend_.

I nod my head at her in acknowledgement and she smiles slightly before turning back around and following Stefan to his car, both of them getting in and speeding off.

I sigh and look around the dark empty car park and realise that I'm alone.

I laugh bitterly and shake my head.

Of course I am.

* * *

Stefan drives us straight to the location of the after party without saying a word. I try to speak to him, to explain that Damon is _just_ my friend and that he isn't playing any sort of game but every time I bring up the subject of his brother he shuts me down and says he doesn't want to talk about him.

I sigh as we pull up outside one of the football player's houses to see the party is in full swing and Stefan climbs out of his car without saying a word.

"Great." I mutter to myself as he walks into the house without me. I know his relationship with his brother isn't good but this is ridiculous.

I walk into the house alone and I'm hit with loud music and the smell of alcohol is _strong_. I walk straight to the kitchen knowing that I'm going to need a drink or ten if I'm going to survive the night. I find Matt on the way and he gives me a hug before leading me through the crowds of drunken teenagers.

"Where's Stefan?" he asks curiously as he pours some beer from a keg and hands me the plastic cup. I shrug while taking a large gulp and Matt chuckles softly "Oh? You two fighting?"

I roll my eyes before finishing off my drink and motioning for Matt to hand me another one. "He's being an idiot."

"Care to explain?" he asks he pours himself a drink for himself.

I sigh and finish off my second cup before slamming it against the counter in frustration "He has a problem with me being friends with his brother."

"Who? Damon?"

"No, Giuseppe!" I snap and I watch as Matt grins "Sorry," I sigh apologetic "He's just infuriating."

"I guess I can see why he might be worried," Matt offers and I immediately send him a glare "Whoa Gilbert, hear me out. Look, everyone knows that Damon has a pretty poor reputation in this town, and granted, some of it might not be true but most of it is, he's done some pretty bad things from what I've seen and heard. I think Stefan has every right to be worried" Not helping Matt. "However," he continues and I glance back up at him "You're your own person, Elena, and you can be friends with whoever you like and I know you, pretty well I like to think, so if you can see something good in Damon that maybe everyone else can't then I'd trust you with that. You're a pretty good judge of character."

I smile at his words and wrap my arms around him in a quick hug "Thanks Matt," I look up at him gratefully "You always know how to make me feel better."

"At least I'm good for something." He shrugs with a smile before wrapping his arm around my shoulder in a friendly gesture "Now come on, how about we stop hiding in the kitchen and join the rest of the party?"

A few drinks later and I'm a little drunk, I'm having a good time though with Matt and Bonnie and our friends. Stefan is still avoiding me but I'm past caring. If he wants to go in a mood over something so petty then that is his problem.

"Hey Bon, where's Caroline?" I ask loudly over the deafening music noticing that my other best friend has been AWOL for at least an hour.

Bonnie shrugs not knowing and I walk through the crowds to go and find her and when I push through and leave the den and into the hallway I freeze.

I've found my best friend.

Except she's not alone, no, she's got her arms wrapped around Damon's shoulders and is pulling him down for a kiss which he gladly reciprocates.

I stand frozen with wide eyes, not expecting this and not expecting the sickening feeling that is currently in my stomach because of it.

I feel tears start to sting in my eyes and I don't even know why. It's not like they are doing anything wrong, they're both single, right?

I shake my head and snap out of my trance and walk away trying to forget about what I just saw.

* * *

I normally hate these parties, their always full of stupid drunken idiot jocks and annoying cheerleaders as well as the rest of the 'popular' kids of Mystic Falls High but I needed to go somewhere that wasn't home and Tyler text me to tell me to come to address because there's freeze beer.

I can't say no to free booze.

I push my way through the crowd, trying to hide from that Caroline girl who keeps trying to jump me every chance she gets. Sure, she's hot and is actually a good kisser, but I'm just not in the mood to hook up with anyone tonight.

I smile when I see Elena standing with some friends and immediately walk towards her and wrap my arm around her shoulder from behind, stretching across her collarbone so my hand is resting on her other shoulder as I pull back her against me.

Ok, I may be a little drunk.

"Fancy seeing you here beautiful!" I grin as Elena tries to get out of my grasp but I don't let her.

"Damon. Damon!" she spills her drink a little as I pull her back even further but eventually she breaks loose and turns around to face me looking very annoyed. "Really?" she looks down at her soaked t-shirt "Look what you've done!"

I shrug innocently and go to wipe away the drips that are on her bare skin at the top of her shirt but she swots my hand away.

"Geez what crawled up your ass and died Gilbert?" She doesn't answer me; instead she concentrates on wiping off the stale beer off her skin. "Elena?" No reply. "Elena? Elena? _Elena?_ ELENA?"

"What?!" she snaps and looks extremely pissed off.

"Oh so you _can_ hear me?"

"I'm choosing to ignore you, Damon." She tells me stubbornly without looking directly at me.

"Why?" I ask genuinely confused and take a step closer, realising that she doesn't seem in the mood to be teased anymore "Have I done something to upset you?" I ask quietly, wondering if she can even hear me over the loud music but when she _eventually_ looks at me I can see the guilt in her eyes.

"No," she sighs and runs her hand through her hair "Sorry, it's been a long day, I'm just being grumpy."

I'm not entirely sure if she is being completely honest but I accept her explanation and go to speak but a flash of blonde in the corner of my eye quickly distracts me and I immediately pull Elena in front of me and duck down a little hiding behind her.

"Damon?" she tries to turn around but I hold her still "What the hell are you doing?"

"Ssh" I place my hands on Elena's hips keeping her in place "She'll hear you!"

"Who? What are you talking about?" she asks but I watch as she looks up and a look of realization crosses her features. "Oh." I hear the amusement in her voice and she turns around to face me and pushes me backwards into the crowd and away from her friend "You're hiding from Caroline?" she smirks.

"I'm not…hiding." I try to defend myself but she doesn't budge "Ok fine" I sigh "I may be hiding a little."

"Why? I saw you with her earlier…it seemed like you liked her." She says and there is something about her tone that makes me feel uncomfortable.

I also don't like the fact that she saw me with Caroline, it bothers me but I can't figure out why.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, she's a nice girl and all and she is hot." Elena scowls a little "What? She's not as pretty as you, _obviously_," I roll my eyes a little and I see the smile cross Elena's lips and _that_ makes me happy. I'm very much aware that I would never have said that to her face if I didn't have eight cups of beer down me. "But I don't _like_ her."

"So instead of being a man and telling her this to her face, you're choosing to hide behind me instead?" she raises her eyebrows at me and I shrug.

"Yeah, pretty much." I smirk and Elena reaches her arm out and punches me, really hard! "Oy! What the hell is that for?!" I rub it in pain, my arm still hurting from where Giuseppe gripped them earlier.

"She's my best friend!" she tries to look mad but I can tell she's not. "And stop being a wimp, I didn't hit you _that_ hard!" she says when she notices me rubbing my arm still.

I immediately let my arm go and shrug before grabbing another beer from some random kid who walks by. "Hey!" he shouts at me annoyed but all it takes is one glare from me and he walks away without another word.

"You want a drink, Elena?"

"Are you going to steal it from some other innocent passer-by?"

"Do you _want_ me too?"

She rolls her eyes and grabs my hand, pulling me through the crowd and into the kitchen. "I'd like you to make me one legitimately thanks" she smirks at me and I laugh a little before nodding my head and go to pour her some more beer from the keg before I stop myself. "What? You don't know how to use a keg?" she asks amused "I thought I was supposed to be the boring innocent one in this friendship."

I scoff and roll my eyes "Don't be so stupid, Elena." I wave her off. Of course I know how to use a keg. "How about we go find a real drink?" I ask her with a smirk and she grins back at me.

"Sounds good to me Salvatore!"

I roam around the kitchen looking through different cupboards when eventually I find the one I am looking for. "Ha! It's always the top shelf in the corner." I smirk and pull out an expensive bottle of bourbon. "You like?" I turn to face Elena with a grin and she smiles while walking towards me and taking the bottle from my hands.

"My dad used to drink this, it's expensive." She admires the bottle a little before unscrewing the cap and taking a chug, cringing a little as it burns down her sensitive throat and I smirk realising she probably isn't used to drinking anything this strong straight up.

"The good stuff always is." I smile as I take the bottle back from her and take a large swig without even flinching and I feel a little…_giddy_, that Elena actually looks impressed by this.

What is wrong with me? I used to be so cool.

I watch as she downs more of the bottle and sways on her feet a little before passing me it back. "Come on!" Elena smiles widely at me and locks her hand in mine and pulls me out of the kitchen, one hand clutched in hers and the other holding the expensive bottle of bourbon tightly.

As we run through the crowds laughing I realise that I don't think I have ever felt this happy or this _free_ in a long time. I haven't thought of anything but Elena and having fun and I _like_ it.

"Where are we going?!" I shout with a laugh as Elena pulls me through the back door and runs over the grass in the huge backyard, my hand still gripped in hers as I run just a little behind her.

"Everywhere!" she lets go of my hands and twirls around, swinging her arms around with a loud laugh and it makes my heart literally jump.

I don't care that we're both completely wasted. Just from watching her smile and laugh like this makes this night the best night of my life.

I'm almost out of breath from laughing as I take another sip from the bottle and hand it to Elena, watching her do the same but this time she doesn't even flinch as I watch the liquid fall down her throat.

"Well done, I'm impressed." I smirk as I take a step towards her and pat her on the back.

"You like?" she giggles before grabbing my arm again and pulling me further back into yard, the darkness out here blocking us from the world. "Come on, I want to show you something!" she starts running again and I follow her without question.

This back yard is huge and before I know it we reach a small gated fence and my smile widens when I see the empty swimming pool, the only light is from the moon.

"Wanna get in?" I question Elena as she opens the gate and takes off her socks and shoes.

She laughs and shakes her head "No, it's freezing!" she sits on the edge of the pool and dips her feet inside, gasping and shivering a little at first at the temperature before eventually she settles. "Don't just stand there Damon! Come on!" she motions me to repeat her actions and I grin before doing the same.

We sit in silence for a while, passing the bottle of bourbon between us with small grins on our faces and I've never felt this calm.

I look down surprised when Elena leans her head on my shoulder and lets out a relaxed sigh "I like being your friend, Damon." Her voice is so soft.

"I like being your friend too, Elena." I answer back while wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer against me.

"Promise me you'll try and stay out of trouble, I don't want you to go to prison." Her tone changes a little and I gulp slightly.

"I'm not going to prison, Elena." I frown a little at her words. Why would she think that?

"Damon." She sighs and at first I think she's going to pull away from me but she doesn't. "I know that it was you who broke into the Mikaelson house." She tells me calmly.

I stay silent. Not really sure what to say to that because it is the truth and I don't want to lie to her by denying it.

"It's ok," She continues and turns her head a little so her face is pressed against my shoulder and my heart skips a beat when she presses a soft kiss against the fabric of my sweatshirt. "I won't tell anyone. But promise me you won't do anything stupid like that again? I don't want you to get caught and break your probation conditions and end up in jail. Promise me, Damon, please."

I think about her words, knowing that it would be so easy for me to just agree and promise her this without actually meaning it but the words can't leave my mouth unless I know it's the truth.

"I can't promise you that, Elena." I say sadly and she lifts her head up and I turn to look at her and I'm surprised to see that her face looks so… _sad_.

"Why not?" she asks me so simply but there is sadness to her voice and I can't tell if it's just because of the alcohol or if she is genuinely saddened by my failed promise.

"Because sometimes I do things, stupid things, and I don't know why I do them but I just _do_." I turn my head away from her but she places both her hands on either side of my face and I gulp looking into her dark eyes.

"Damon," She whispers my name and my stomach is literally doing somersaults right now. "Why don't you ever let people see the good in you?" she is looking at me so intently and as much as I want to, I can't look away.

"Because if people see good, they expect good and I don't want to live up to anyone's expectations." I reply honestly and I surprise myself by the words coming out of mouth. The large amount of alcohol in my system clearly bringing out my vulnerable side without my permission.

Elena sighs and drops her hands and it hurts me that she's disappointed with my answer; however I'm shocked when she stands up and removes her shirt.

What the fuck.

She's stood in just a very small and tight tank top and I can't help but stare.

"What? What are you doing?" I ask with a stutter as she starts to unzip her jeans. What the fuck! I watch with wide eyes as she slowly discards them and throws them to the side where her top is and looks at me with a smirk.

"You're not the only one who doesn't want to have to live up to everyone's expectations, Damon." She tells me with a shrug. "I am _so_ sick of everyone seeing me as the good girl, straight A student Elena Gilbert who never gets into trouble! You're right, it's boring and _I'm_ bored of it." And with that she jumps straight into the pool.

I get splashed, a lot, and I stand up onto the edge of the pool and look down at her flabbergasted. "Elena!" I don't know what to say or do.

She comes up for air and laughs so loudly while she rubs her shoulders "Gah it's freezing!"

"It's October, of course it's freezing!" I fling my arms out in shock before a disbelieved laugh escapes me "You're crazy!"

"I'm just trying to have fun! Come join me?" she swims towards the edge of the pool and I immediately step back.

"Nah uh, no way!"

"What?" she pouts "Why not? I thought you were fun, crazy, spontaneous Damon Salvatore! Was it all just talk?" she challenges me with a smirk and I sigh before giving in.

"Fine!" I huff in annoyance before taking off my sweatshirt so my chest is entirely bare and I swear I think I see Elena lick her lips. "But if I catch pneumonia I'm going to kill you, Gilbert!" I unzip my jeans before stepping out of them and tossing them to the side. I take a deep breath and do a running jump straight into the pool.

I hear Elena squeal while I'm under the water and I realise I've probably just splashed the hell out of her. Good. It serves her right.

The second I come up for air however a wave of water crashes into my face and I splutter as Elena giggles loudly "Oops." She grins innocently at me and I shake my head in disbelief and splash her back. "Hey!"

"Oh did you not like that huh?" I splash some more and she holds her arms out in front of her face.

"Stop! Damon! I mean it!" she splutters out between my splashes and I finally relent. "Ass!"

I smirk with a shrug before letting out a shiver. Jesus it's cold. I watch as Elena swims towards the other side of the pool and leans against the side and I just follow her because it feels like the most natural thing in the world.

She smiles softly at me as I get closer and I can't help but think of how beautiful she looks right now, the light from the moon shining down on her face and making her chocolate brown eyes sparkle.

"Elena." I whisper as I hover right in front of her before placing each arm on either side of her face on the edge of the pool.

"Yeah?" she answers back just as quietly and I'm surprised when her hands land on around my neck, pulling me closer as her fingers play with my hair.

"You're beautiful." I tell her honestly and she just smiles softly and runs a hand down my cheek slowly.

I gulp a little as I get goosebumps and it has nothing to do with how cold it is. I let my hands drop from the wall behind her and place them on her hips as one of Elena's hands falls to my chest, lying flat against my heart.

"Your heart is beating so fast" she whispers while looking down at my chest as she moves her thumb up and down.

Jesus Christ.

I wrap one of my arms around her waist and pull her against me so our foreheads are almost touching "Why do you make me feel like this, Elena?" I mumble quietly while closing my eyes.

"I…I don't know," She stutters, her voice soft and shaky as her fingers continue to play with my hair. "You make me feel so…" she leans her forehead against mine and takes a deep breath.

"Alive?" I finish for her with a swallow as my eyes start to sting. "You make me feel alive. Alive." I repeat a little more firmly and the word shocks me because I realise that I haven't felt like this since the night of the shooting and suddenly everything comes crashing back at once.

She nods against me before dipping her head past mine into a hug and sighs against my neck. I lean my head on her shoulder as she plays with my hair and I run my hand down her back. "It's ok," she whispers into my ear and it's not until a moment later when I realise that I'm crying. My body is shaking against hers as she holds onto me tightly in a firm comforting embrace. "It's ok, I'm here for you." She says soothingly.

"You don't have to hide with me, let it out Damon." She says tenderly as she clings onto me even tighter.

So I do.

* * *

**Can I just say thank you so so much for all your amazing reviews for the last chapter! It definately made an impact with me and helped me finish this chapter and get it posted tonight :) so thanks again so much! I didn't have time to reply to everyone one by one but I will defo try for the next chapter!**

**Thanks! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

_**March 2012**_

"Is it true?" Katherine pushes past me into my bedroom and turns to face me with her hands on her hips and she does not look happy.

What have I done now?

"Nice to see you too babe." I roll my eyes and shut my door behind her and when I see the furious look on her face I know now is not the time to tease. "Is what true?" I sigh giving in.

"You slept with Rebekah Mikaelson?" her voice is cold and angry and she looks mad and I frown because this is not what I expected.

"That was ages ago." I tell her carefully and take a hesitant step towards her "Long before you and I got together. Why are you upset about this?"

"I'm not upset, Damon! I'm mad at you."

"Why?" I frown confused. "We had a one night stand, it happens! You're history isn't exactly clean and tidy either, Katherine!"

"Oh wow, thanks." She mockingly smiles at me and I take another step towards her but she holds her arm out "Don't." she glares at me and I freeze in place knowing better than to argue with her any more than I have to.

I sigh and run my hand through my hair. "I don't know what you want me to say, Katherine." I tell her honestly, giving in on this argument already. I'd never win anyways, Katherine Pierce always wins.

"I want you to tell me the truth. Did you seduce her to get at Klaus?" she looks at me expectantly "He told me you bragged to him about it, like it was something to be proud of! How can you do something like that?"

"Wait you've been talking to _Klaus_?"

"That's not what's important, Damon! Tell me, yes or no, did you only sleep with Rebekah so you could gloat to Klaus about it?"

"Fine," I sigh and throw my hands up in the air "Yes, that's why I did it, but before you make me out to be some kind of monster who seduced her and _used_ her, she was more than willing to comply!"

"Urgh!" Katherine groans in frustration "You're an ass!"

"She wanted me for the exact same reason I wanted her! To get back at her brother!" I defend myself immediately, getting angrier now. "It was neutral, she was pissed off at Klaus, I was pissed off at Klaus. It was angry revenge sex; she wasn't some innocent little flower who I lied too to get her in my bed! She knew exactly what it was and she _loved_ it." I take a step forward "Now tell me why you were talking to Klaus, Katherine." I push for an answer and she rolls her eyes and takes a step forward to we are standing toe to toe.

She tips her head to the side slightly and eyes me up and down before speaking "Don't you worry that pretty little head of yours about that." She runs her finger down my face and I gulp slightly. "Now _show_ me that you've forgotten about that stupid little girl and that _I'm_ the only one you want and will _ever_ want."

* * *

_**Present Time**_

I think that it is safe to say that things changed between me and Damon since the last week in the pool. I don't know why, but ever since I held him in my arms while he cried into my shoulder I just always want to be around him. Maybe because it's the first time someone has ever broken down in front of me and I want to look after him, I don't know. Even when my parents died, Jeremy only cried in front of me at the funeral, and even then he wouldn't let me comfort him.

We stayed in that pool for a half hour before eventually he calmed down, he pulled away from me and I kissed his forehead, wiping away his dry tears before we silently got out and got dressed. He walked me home, kissed me on the cheek and wished me goodnight before walking away.

He did try to avoid me at first, I could tell he was embarrassed by what happened and I know he isn't used to letting his guard down around anyone or showing his vulnerable side, but I kept on pushing and pushing him and eventually I think he just gave in just to stop me annoying him.

I can be quite persistent when I want to be.

However Stefan doesn't seem to be too happy about all the time I'm spending with his brother, I tried to find a way to tell him that I wanted to help Damon without mentioning what happened but Stefan doesn't see what I see, which I find completely bizarre considering they are brothers.

What is it with that family?

Another plus to all of this is that Damon hasn't gotten into any more trouble since that night. He's kept his distance from his old gang again and has gone back to having lunch with Ric instead of hanging by the old bike shed. I can't say that I'm not relieved by this, Damon is so much better than all of them boys.

I walk into my History class and glide straight past Bonnie and Caroline with a smile and a wave to take my seat next to Damon, who I am surprised to see is sat down before me. He normally strolls in 5 minutes late, much to Alaric's annoyance!

"You're early Salvatore" I eye him suspiciously as I place my books on my table and turn to face him. "Are you feeling alright?" I reach out and press my hand against his forehead to check his temperature "Hmm, your temperature feels fine."

Damon rolls his eyes while swatting my hand from his head "You're funny." He mocks me before continuing "This is all part of the new Giuseppe Salvatore _keep Damon in check_ regime, where he has baby bro drive me to school every day so I get here on time and I can tell you that our conversations during the 10 minute drive are absolutely _thrilling_."

"Well maybe if you made more of an effort, things would be different," I point out "You're both as bad as each other; you're not exactly nice to him Damon."

Damon scoffs "I'll have you know, Elena, I am fabulous company but Stefan is just too stupid and pig headed to notice." He shrugs "Besides, he has a major stick in his ass about you and I being friends, apparently I need to take a beat and stop harassing you because I'm getting pathetic. Interesting theory, I have been called so much worse though, I think he needs to work on his insults if he is trying to get to me." He smirks a little "Major fail for Saint Stefan."

"He said that?" I ask shocked, a little offended and annoyed that Stefan would go behind my back and say that to Damon. He is certainly not harassing me.

"Meh," Damon shrugs like it's no big deal "He says a lot of things but he always seems to forget that I don't really give a crap about anything that comes out of that pretty little mouth of his."

I'm about to ask him why he doesn't care what Stefan thinks, because they are brothers, surely you would think that would count for something? But before I get the chance Alaric walks through the door and begins the class. I watch amused as a shocked look crosses on his face when he sees Damon already sat in his seat.

There really is a first time for everything.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out to find a text from Caroline.

_**Has Damon mentioned me? Xoxo**_

I sigh and look across the class to see Caroline watching me with a hopeful smile on her face then back to Damon who is mindlessly drawing in his notebook before replying.

_**Sorry Care xx**_

I feel guilty because I really don't feel sorry.

* * *

The bell rings and I grab my notepad before reaching over to Elena's desk and picking up all her books with a smirk.

"I'm capable of carrying my own books, Damon." She smiles at me but I shrug without replying and she sighs giving in "Thank you." She says softly before following me out of the classroom.

"You're very welcome, Elena" I send her a wink and she rolls her eyes as we walk through the hallway. We reach her locker and I watch her open it before I hand the books back to her. "So…"

"So?" Elena turns to face me with a grin as she motions for me to continue.

"I _suck_ at calculus" I blurt out and inwardly scold myself for acting like such a nervous idiot.

Elena laughs a little and looks at me amused "Ok?"

"Well…I know you're like in the top class for Math and calculus and I was just wondering if maybe…" I stop myself and run my hand through my hair "Never mind."

"No, go on." She urges me with a smile.

"I have an assignment due in for tomorrow that I stupidly decided to leave until the last minute and I'm kinda stumped on it." I explain a little awkwardly. I'm Damon Salvatore, I'm not used to asking other people for help, but I guess it's different with Elena.

"You want my help?" I raise my eyebrow "Oh this is good."

"How is _that_ good?"

"Because you think you're the best at _everything_ and now finally there is something that you'll admit you can't do!" she looks so smug right now.

"Hey!" I immediately go to defend myself "I didn't say I _couldn't_ _do_ it, I just said I'd prefer a little extra help…"

"Extra help from me?" she smirks.

"Yes, Elena," I sigh in annoyance "From you."

"When's it due again, tomorrow?" she asks again as she slams her locker door shut.

"Yes, tomorrow morning, so it would be really great if you could _help_ me with it tonight." I try to act as cool as possible. Knowing that if I fail this assignment Giuseppe will not be happy.

"We have plans tonight." My baby brother decides to rudely interrupt and comes up behind Elena, wrapping his arms protectively around her waist and pulls her against him before leaning down and kissing her on the lips.

I watch with a frown and turn my head away feeling very uncomfortable and wait for them to stop.

After what seems like _forever_ but was really only a couple of seconds, if that, they pull away from each other and I notice Elena shuffle awkwardly and look down to the ground, not meeting my eyes.

"We're going to that new fancy restaurant that's just opened in town, I managed to pull some strings and booked us a table." Stefan explains to me as if I actually give a freaking damn.

"That's _great_, brother," I roll my eyes sarcastically. "Well done!"

"Why do you always have to be such a dick, Damon?" Stefan glares at me.

"Because I _am_ a dick, Stefan." I mockingly smile at him "See you tomorrow Elena." I leave, making sure to knock my shoulder against Stefan's _hard_ on my way past.

"Ass." I hear him mutter from behind me but I keep on walking, trying to ignore the disappointed feeling that is building up inside me that Elena is spending her night with her _boyfriend_, my _brother_, rather than with me.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" I mutter to myself in frustration before slamming shut my calculus textbook and throwing it across the room.

I can't believe I'm staying in to do homework. What the hell is happening to me? This isn't me!

I stand up and pull on my hooded sweatshirt and walk out the door. Fuck this. I'll hand in what I've done so far and hope for the best, I'm not cut out for Math.

I take a slow walk to the Grill, trying to shut out all the thoughts running through my head. It's not until I get to the Grill when I realise that for the first time in a long time my mind hasn't been concentrating on finding Klaus, no, instead the biggest problem in my head right now is Elena.

I shake my head with a sigh. Don't even go there! She's my friend, that's all; she loves my brother for God's sake! I don't stand a chance against Saint Stefan, not with a girl like Elena anyway.

I realise that I'm letting my thoughts travel to that place I've been trying to avoid, because I can't like Elena as more than a friend. I promised myself after Katherine that I wouldn't put myself in a position where a woman could hurt me again, and pining after a girl who is dating my brother will definitely put me right back there and I _can't_ do that again and I won't.

I've tried avoiding her, but she is very persistent and wouldn't leave me alone. Besides, at the end of the day I do enjoy her company more than anyone else's and when I'm not around her I want to be. I want to be her friend and for whatever reason she wants to be mine too, so I will gladly settle for that if it means having her in my life.

I walk into the Grill and look around to see if anyone is about but I don't spot anyone. I sigh and go to turn to leave but stop myself when I see Rebekah Mikaelson sat in a booth on her own looking very bored.

"Well well," I smirk as I approach her and slide into the booth so I'm sat opposite her "Fancy seeing you here Barbie."

Rebekah sighs loudly "Go away Damon."

I ignore her and pick up a menu, scanning it lazily with my eyes with a smirk on my face just because I know it annoys her. "What are you doing here all alone at this time? Isn't it past your bedtime?" I glance at her briefly as I speak to see that she huffs a little and crosses her arms.

"Mind your own business Salvatore." She glares at me now "Now please leave."

"But we're having so much fun!" I pout a little mockingly before throwing the menu onto the table "Your brother not around tonight?" I question while looking around the bar.

"No." she replies shortly and then looks at me with a glare "He knows it was you who trashed our house, by the way!"

"Nah," I smirk with a shrug "He can't prove anything, besides, I have an alibi."

"How convenient for you."

"I know, right?" I chuckle a little and we fall into silence for a few moments before I realise something "You don't seem that upset about it."

Rebekah shrugs a little and leans back "You did a bad job on my bedroom, took our maids less than an hour to clean it." She almost sounds like she is bragging "Klaus's and Kol's bedrooms however…well, that was a little more tricky."

I laugh a little and lean forward so I'm resting my arms on the table "Well that really _is_ unfortunate."

"Hmm." Rebekah smirks at me a little and does a once over of the bar just like I had done earlier. "Where's your _gang_ tonight then?"

"Oh please, don't even go there Barbie. You know better than that."

"Ok, fine. Well then, where are your _friends_ tonight?" she questions me and makes a note to take a look around "Because I don't see any." She raises her eyebrow at me

"Likewise, honey." I smirk back and she actually lets out a dry laugh. "You see, I don't _need_ friends, _you_ however were looking a little lonely before I graced you with my presence."

"Oh _please_, don't think so highly of yourself."

"That's not what you were saying last year when you were in my bed, Rebekah." I smirk.

Rebekah's eyes shoot to mine and I can tell she is trying to look annoyed but there is a smirk escaping her lips. "You _loved_ it."

"Meh," I shrug "I've had better!" I look at her amused as her smirk immediately falls and turns into a scowl.

"Oh like who? Katherine?"

Yes she went there.

I sigh loudly "Really? You're going to bring her into this?"

Rebekah shrugs innocently "Why not? I'm sick of walking on egg shells for that bitch. She ruined my brother's life." Yeah right, like Katherine asked Klaus to shoot her! "She obviously ruined yours too. So what do you say we go for round two and I'll prove you wrong? I bet Katherine would be stirring in her grave if we hooked up again. She always hated me."

"Let's get one thing straight, Rebekah." I frown at her "I don't do anything to get back at Katherine. I'm _done_ with doing anything that involves Katherine."

"You know that's not true, Damon" challenges me "I know you're still looking for Klaus, if you didn't care about Katherine anymore you'd have moved on already and not spent three months roaming around America looking for my brother." She leans forward. "Besides, this has nothing to do with Katherine or Klaus. I'm bored, you're hot, I'm hot so why not?"

Why not?

I can think of a lot of reasons.

But then I think of that main reason having a romantic meal with my brother right now and I shake my head with a sigh and think back to that promise I made to myself.

I refuse to put myself in that situation again.

I'm about to agree, may as well have fun while I'm stuck in this stupid town plus it would be amusing to piss off Kol if he knew I slept with his sister, _again_, when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and frown when I see a text from Elena. I glance at Rebekah briefly who is still watching me expectantly before opening up the message.

_**Hi Damon, I know it's late but do  
you want to come over?  
I can help you with your calculus  
assignment? Say yes, I know you  
want too :) Xxx **_

"Sorry Barbie." I stand up with a grin "I've had a better offer."

* * *

I sit staring at my phone with a frown counting down the minutes since I sent that text to Damon. I rewrote it a dozen times before I deemed it acceptable to send and that was 30 minutes ago.

Why has he not replied?

I look over my clock to see that it's almost 11:30pm and I sigh realizing that Damon probably won't be coming. I'm about to walk into my bathroom to get ready for bed when I hear a knock on my window. What the hell?

I nervously walk towards it as the knock continues and take a deep breath before opening the curtains and scream with fright when I see Damon is there in front of it with a smirk on his face!

"Damon!" I gasp and quickly open my window and helping him inside "What the hell are you doing? You could have fallen!" I watch as he stands to his feet with a triumph look on his face. "You know, you could have just used the front door." I roll my eyes slightly but I am glad he is here.

"Where's the fun in that?" Damon scoffs "Besides, I figured your Aunt Jenna would be a little suspicious if I turned up here so late." He shrugs while his eyes wonder around my room studying it as a smirk enters his lips "So…this is your bedroom huh?" he asks amused as he walks around, picking random things up to look at.

"Yes, Damon, this is my bedroom." I notice him pick up a photo of me and Stefan and I immediately walk towards him and pull it out of his hands. "Stop snooping!"

"Speaking of baby bro," he starts to speak and I go to cut him off and tell him that no one mentioned his brother but he doesn't give me the chance. "What happened to your _hot_ date at that new fancy restaurant?" there is something in his tone that I don't like and it makes me nervous.

"We went." I answer back quickly "It was nice."

"Nice?" Damon looks at me amused and I feel my cheeks reddening.

"Very nice." I frown.

"Very nice." Damon repeats with a nod of his head, a grin on his lips. What is so damn funny?

"I didn't invite you here to talk about my date." I scowl at him "Where's your assignment? Have you even started it?"

"Sure." Damon shrugs and pulls out a crumpled sheet of paper from his bag pocket. I look at him in disbelief at the state of it before he hands it over to me. "I was just going to turn it in like that, feel very free to add to it though, I won't complain."

I look down at the sheet of questions and look back up at him a little amused "Seriously? You were going to submit _this_?"

"Yep." Damon falls back onto my bed and picks up my teddy and places it on his lap. I look at him amused, big bad Damon Salvatore hugging my teddy bear and try to ignore the other part of me that is thinking about Damon Salvatore lying on _my_ bed.

"Damon you haven't even answered half the questions!" I tell him completely flabbergasted.

"I told you before, I _suck_ at calculus." He rolls his eyes at me and I walk over to him and pull my teddy from his arms.

"Hey!" he pouts but I ignore him and tug on his arm, pulling him to his feet.

"You want to pass, right?" I ask him seriously and he sighs before nodding his head a little "Well then, we best get started! I have a feeling this is going to take a while."

* * *

I wasn't wrong. Two long hours later we finally finish the assignment and I feel mentally worn out. Damon Salvatore does not understand Math.

Of course it didn't help that he kept on distracting me, steering our conversations away from the assignment before I eventually realised that we needed to go back to our work. Of course Damon tried many times to just get me to tell him the answers but I _want_ him to learn and understand this so he can do it himself in the future if I'm not available to help him. I don't want him to fail.

I throw the pen down across my desk in triumph and turn to Damon with a smirk that is matching his own. "Done!"

"You're such a nerd, Elena." He laughs at me.

"Hey!" I pout and punch him on the arm "I've just helped you with your homework and you thank me by calling me a nerd? Where's your gratitude?"

"Ok," he grins at me and leans forward. "I, Damon Salvatore, would like to thank you, Elena Gilbert, for being a nerd and helping me with my homework." he smirks at me "Granted, a pretty awesome nerd, but still a nerd."

"Ass." I roll my eyes at him with a grin and stand up, glancing over at the clock with a yawn and seeing that it's nearly 2am. Fuck, we have school in the morning.

"You tired?" Damon questions while also standing up and I slowly nod my head. "I best be going then, don't want to keep you awake." He smiles softly at me and for some reason I start to panic a little.

"No!" I immediately blurt out then cringe at my embarrassing behaviour. "I mean, you can stay for a little while longer if you want? We can watch a movie or something?" I try to sound casual but deep down I know I am pleading with him to say yes.

"And you won't fall asleep through this movie and leave me all on my lonesome?" he questions with an eye raised.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." I do the actions along with it and smile "I know you want to watch a chick flick with me, Damon."

"Oh yes, that is _always_ how I want to spend my Thursday nights." He mocks me and I laugh a little before pushing him down onto my bed.

"Sit. I'll go find us a DVD." I order him and go rummage through my large pile before grinning and picking one up. "Found one!"

"Nah uh! No way!" Damon immediately shakes his head "I am _not_ watching The Notebook!"

"Why not?" I stick my bottom lip out "It's cute!"

"I don't _do_ cute!" he argues whiles standing up and walking over to my pile "Don't you have any _good _movies?"

"Hey! All my movies are good!"

"You don't even have any James Bond!" he looks at me astonished. "What is wrong with you, Gilbert?"

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you? How can you not like The Notebook!" I pull out one of Jeremy's action DVD's that's been misplaced in my room out of Damon's hands before he gets any ideas. "Have you even seen it?"

"No of course not!" Damon actually sounds a little offended.

"Well then you can't judge it." I tell him firmly "Come on, get comfortable we're watching it whether you like it or not."

"Fine." Damon makes a point of sighing loudly and goes to sit back on my bed, leaning against my headboard and getting himself comfy.

I put the DVD inside the player and climb in next to him, lifting up the duvet covers and sliding under it, motioning for Damon to do the same. I turn off my bedside lamp as the movie starts, the only light in room now coming from my TV and I try to calm my beating heartbeat at the thought of me pretty much lying in bed with Damon right now.

I shuffle a little on the bed trying to get comfy and I can see Damon watching me from the corner of my eye and that does nothing to ease my nerves right now.

Why did I suggest this again?

I jump when a loud shrill suddenly breaks the silence between us and turn to Damon who groans while pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"What?" he snaps at whoever is calling him in annoyance. "Now? No…I can't. I'm busy. None of your business Lockwood. Yeah well that's not my problem. Ok well if he's being a pain in your ass you sort it out. No…No. Tyler. Damn it, I'm not coming. See you tomorrow." He hangs up his phone with a mutter of some none kind words about his…_friend_? Before turning to face me. "Sorry" he apologizes meekly.

"You know if you need to go you can." I offer, feeling guilty if he's just staying to be polite. "I'd understand if you'd rather be out with your friends right now than sat here watching a movie you're insisting on hating with me." I smile just to show that I won't mind but he just shakes his head.

"Nah," He says simply "I'd rather be here with you."

My heart starts pounding against my chest again and I nod slowly before turning my attention back to the movie, Damon doing the same although this time all the tension has gone and we fall into a comfortable silence, a small smile dancing on my lips when I think back to his words.

_I'd rather be here with you._

* * *

A couple of hours later the credits roll and I glance at Damon with a smile at his face. He looks like he is trying his hardest to look neutral but I saw the tears in his eyes when Ally and Noah died together in each other's arms.

"Well?" I ask him expectantly.

"It was alright." He shrugs a little trying to act cool and I laugh loudly shaking my head as I turn the lamp back on, the brightness stinging my tired eyes for a second before I get used to the light. I glance over at the clock and see that it's after 4am and I should definitely get to sleep right now if I want to even consider waking up on time for school. I glance next to me at Damon who lifts his legs from underneath my covers looking wide awake and I wonder how he's not tired.

I'm about to ask him why but the shrill of his cell phone rings _again_ and I have to wonder who would be calling him at this time!

I watch as Damon looks down at his phone with a frown before reluctantly answering it. "Giuseppe?" he asks with a cold tone, something that makes Damon sound like someone completely different to who he is with me.

"_Where the hell are you, Damon?!" _I hear his loud powerful voice from the other end of the phone from where I am sitting next to Damon and I can tell that he does not sound happy. "_I'm at the police station to bail your ass out and then some stupid cop tells me you're not there?!_"

Damon looks just as confused as I am. "What? Police station? What are you banging on about Giuseppe?" he asks in annoyance.

"_Don't play dumb with me boy! I'm sick of you treating me like an idiot! Get your ass right home right now!_"

"No." Damon replies back stubbornly "I'm busy."

"_Where are you?"_

Damon glances briefly at me before answering "At a friend's…now tell me why you would think I was at the police station?"

"_Which friend?"_ Giuseppe ignores Damon's question completely.

"None of your business!" Damon replies without missing a beat "Now tell me!"

"_Do you think I'm stupid? I know you were involved!" _his voice has raised again and I don't think I have heard anyone sound so angry _"Now get your useless waste of space ass home right now before I call the Sheriff myself to go and look for you!"_

"Look for me for what?" Damon looks extremely frustrated right now and I glance worriedly around the room feeling like I'm intruding. "I haven't done anything!"

"_Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot I am sick of bailing you out of trouble and I will not do it again! Last spring was bad enough but don't think I wouldn't think twice about letting you get sent down this time!"_

Damon tenses immediately and stands up. "What?"

"Damon" I whisper quietly "Tell him you're here." Damon shakes his head immediately shutting me down "Tell him!" I urge him again not wanting to get him into trouble over something that has obviously happened tonight that has nothing to do with him. "Damon!" my voice gets louder and I jump off the bed and try to pull the phone from his hands but he holds it above his head so I can't reach. I hear Giuseppe's voice shouting down the phone as I struggle to reach for the phone, Damon grabbing my arm and pushing it away from him.

Suddenly my bedroom door swings open and I jump away from Damon and turn to face a shocked looking Jenna who is glancing between Damon and I confused and also a little pissed off.

"Jenna? What are you doing up?" I bite on my bottom lip and see Damon hang up his cell phone beside me and stands awkwardly.

"What am I doing up?" she repeats my question in disbelief "Why do you have a _boy_ in your bedroom at 4am, Elena!" she hisses at me angrily and I immediately try and explain that it is nothing but she cuts me off "No, you know what, forget this for now," she shakes her head "I've just had a phone call from Sheriff Forbes," She tells me while glancing suspiciously at Damon. "Jeremy has been arrested."

What? I look at Damon who is frowning confused before looking back at my Aunt Jenna who does not look happy. "Meet me at the car in 5, Elena." She tells me firmly before looking to my left where Damon is stood. "And you go home, Damon!"

She turns and leaves the room and I turn to look at Damon still in shock. "Jeremy's been arrested? That…that doesn't make sense."

"He'll be fine; don't worry about it, Elena, I'm sure there is an explanation behind this." Damon tells me confidently while placing his hands on my arms and sighs before looking down at me with a small smile "I better go."

I nod my head slowly and he turns to leave but I reach out and grab his hand stopping him. "Please tell your Dad you were with me, whatever has happened tonight, you weren't involved and I don't want you to get into trouble."

Damon smiles at me and rubs his thumb over my knuckles soothingly before replying. "I _am_ the trouble, Elena." He says it like he genuinely believes it and before I can try and convince him otherwise his hand is out of mine and he is out of the door.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Thank you lots and lots again for the reviews, so fun to read and I love seeing your thoughts on each chapter and use it to help me to continue writing!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Until next time :) x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**Ok so this is a big long long chapter here! I hope it's not too much to take in, but I just couldn't find a good place to stop and move onto the next chapter, and I think I would have ruined the flow if I just broke it up into two. I don't know, maybe I'm making a mistake by not splitting it, it's up to you guys to decide!**

**Ps, sorry to those I said this chapter would be posted on Friday, I've had such a busy week and then weekend and this is the first time I've been able to sit down on my laptop since the middle of last week! **

* * *

After speaking with Sheriff Forbes, my Aunt Jenna walks out into the waiting room with a tired and beaten Jeremy walking behind her.

"Oh my god, Jer!" I jump to my feet and run towards him and wrapping my arms around him in a hug "Are you ok?" I pull back and noticed his cut and bruised face.

"I'm fine, Elena." Jeremy mutters and pulls away from me "Can we please just leave?" he starts to walk out of the station and I look at him flabbergasted.

"Aren't you going to tell me what happened?" I ask as we follow him outside.

"Elena I've just spent the last two hours talking to cops and sitting in a cold prison cell, I just want to go home and go to bed!" he snaps at me while getting in the car.

"Hey." Jenna warns him as she climbs into the front seat and starts the car "Less of your attitude, mister! You're lucky you're even sat here, it's a good job Liz was a good friend of your Mom's and decided to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"What even happened?" I ask confused and starting to get a little frustrated at my lack of answers.

"He was involved in some sort of gang fight." I've never heard Jenna sound so angry "What the hell are you even doing hanging out with those kind of guys, Jeremy?!"

"I thought you were keeping your distance!" I jump in "You know the trouble they have caused, Jeremy."

"Oh like you're one to talk, Elena." Jeremy glares back at me "How come you can be friends with Damon?"

"Damon's different!" I argue frustrated.

"No he's not!" Jeremy argues "He's probably the worst of them all, so we got in a fist fight with Kol and his gang, so what? Damon was involved in a _shooting_ last spring and yet you can be friends with him and I can't be friends with Tyler? Or Vicki?"

"He has a point, Elena." Jenna interrupts and I turn in my seat to face her annoyed.

"Ok, since when was this about me?! I'm not the one who got arrested tonight!"

"No but you had Damon Salvatore in your bedroom at 4am! What the hell is that about, Elena? Aren't you forgetting about your boyfriend, who also happens to be Damon's brother?" Jenna shakes her head at me in annoyance while keeping her eyes on the road. "What is wrong with the both of you?"

"It wasn't how it looked, ok?" I sigh feeling defeated and tired and lean my head against the window not happy that the sun is starting to come up and I haven't been to sleep yet. "He's just my friend. Besides, this isn't about Damon, he wasn't even there!"

"Look I'm sorry ok," Jeremy sighs "I'm really tired, can we please just talk about this later?"

"Fine." Jenna reluctantly gives in and looks at us both "But neither of these conversations are over!"

* * *

"How many times do I have to tell you that I wasn't involved?!" I groan in frustration and slam my fist against the table across from Sheriff Forbes who just don't want to give me a damn break.

"That is not what Kol Mikaelson and other witnesses told us Mr Salvatore." She argues back firmly, not taking anything I say seriously.

I run my hand down my face and shake my head. "Of course it was Kol." I mutter and try to stifle a yawn, not even bothering to try and work out what time it is.

As soon as I left Elena's I called Tyler to ask him what the hell went down tonight and why Jeremy Gilbert had been arrested for it. Apparently, Kol and his gang had messed with Tyler's car, so in retaliation him and some of the boys went to Kol's hang out spot looking for a fight, of course things got out of hand and someone called the cops and some of the boys got caught and therefore arrested, Jeremy being one of them. Tyler had managed to get out of there without being seen, and Kol had somehow managed to stay out of trouble and is apparently an _eye witness_ who saw me there, fighting.

An eye witness? Really?

When I got back home Sheriff Forbes was waiting for me, and surprisingly it had nothing to do with Giuseppe, just that really annoying _eye witness_. So here I am sitting in a room in the police station being questioned on my involvement despite my actual innocence for once.

"So you're admitting to it then?" the sheriff tries to get me to confess but how can I confess to something I didn't do?

"No." I scowl at her "I've told you a hundred times already that I wasn't even there!"

"Oh yes, that's right. You were at a _friend's_ house, watching a movie." She sighs and leans back. "Come on, Damon. I don't have time for this."

"It was The Notebook," I point out with a shrug "It was a very romantic movie, a bit cheesy but I can see why you ladies might like it, just in case that helps."

"It doesn't." she fires back at me before leaning forward and placing her elbows on the table "Tell me then, Damon, the name of this _friend_."

I frown a little, knowing that if I say it was Elena, she will then be dragged into this whole mess for the sake of being an alibi. Plus, Stefan will then no doubt find out that I was at his girlfriend's house at that hour and will not be happy and the last thing I want to do is cause trouble for Elena.

"Does that matter?"

"Well if you want them to be your alibi, then yes Damon, it _does_ matter." She looks at me for a moment before sighing "Look, Damon," she begins "Believe it or not, I actually do like you, I just wish you'd learn to stay out of trouble! You're not helping yourself by lying here, just tell me the truth of what happened tonight and I'm sure we'll be able to sort something out with your Father."

"I _am_ telling you the truth." I grumble in annoyance.

"I understand that you're scared of going to prison, Damon, but you're making things worse by withholding the truth. You've been so good these last couple of months, you've stayed out of trouble, or at least you didn't get _caught_, which we won't talk about, but at the end of the day, you've broken your probation rules and you're going to get punished, if you start telling the truth now I'm sure we can come up with a deal with Giuseppe that will keep you out of jail."

I frown a little as I think about her words. "So you're telling me, that if I co-operate, I won't go to jail?"

"Yes." She nods her head "No one wants an on-going investigation here Damon. Mystic Falls is very aware of the two…_rivalries_…that go on here and a lot of the people involved are our children or our friends children and we prefer to sort out our problems _internally_ and I can't help _you_, Damon, as a founding family member, if you don't co-operate with _me_, a fellow founding family member. Do you understand what I am saying here?"

I almost want to laugh. This town is so god damn corrupted its crazy. It's true what they say about the founding family members looking after their own, that is why people like myself, Tyler and Klaus all escaped major punishment last spring from the shooting compared to some of our other friends who aren't from founding families. It's insane and not right and it's another reason why I want to escape Mystic Falls as soon as possible, because if your last name isn't Salvatore, Mikaelson, Lockwood, Fell, Forbes, or Gilbert then you don't mean anything.

"I understand what you're saying Sheriff Forbes, but you want me to confess to something I didn't do, and I have morals and standards so no, I'd rather you make this an on-going _external_ investigation because at the end of the day, I haven't done anything wrong and you can't prove jack shit!"

"Fine." She shakes her head in annoyance and I smile smugly knowing I'm the cause of her actually having to do some real work around here, before she stands up "But you better find yourself a good lawyer, because this isn't just a silly little fighting charge, Damon, you're on _probation_ and you've broke it, therefore it brings back the earlier charge of the shooting last spring."

I freeze slightly, the smug smile falling slowly from my lips as I realise that I've been well and truly stitched up here by Kol.

"Now, are you _sure_ you don't want to make a deal with me here, Damon?" she asks carefully and I stay silent thinking about it. Do I want to confess to something I haven't done for the sake of sparing a proper trial?

No.

I'm sure a few months in prison is better than living with Giuseppe anyway, especially after how angry he looked tonight!

"I'm sure Sheriff, how can I have broken my probation rules when I've done nothing wrong?" I tell her as confidently as I can, hoping that I haven't just signed my own death certificate here.

* * *

I wake up the next morning feeling refreshed and much better than the day before. I decided to take the morning off school to catch up on some sleep and when I awoke around lunch time from my slumber Jenna decided to keep Jeremy and me off from school to spend time together as a family and we decided to go on a trip for a couple of days out of town.

We had a good weekend, and I don't think we'd ever felt like a real family since before my parents died. Jeremy opened up a little, and apologized for his recent behavior and seemed back to his old self when we were out of contact and away from Mystic Falls. I just hope it doesn't change just because we are back.

Jenna also had a private word to me about Damon, letting me know that she is concerned about our blossoming friendship and if it was going to lead into anything more. I defended myself immediately of course, I mean, I'm dating Stefan!

Besides, even if Stefan and I weren't together, Damon would never go for a girl like me. He's said himself that he won't settle for anything and wants to travel and experience life to its full potential, live a life that wouldn't include a boring normal girl like me.

I haven't spoken to him since the other night when everything happened. I did text him late last night when we got back to Mystic Falls but he didn't reply which I found a little disconcerting but tried not to think too much into it, he was probably just busy. I'll just have to see him at school, I just hope that Giuseppe hasn't given him too much of a hard time.

I walk into Mystic Falls High School with Jeremy and immediately people turn to look at us and whisper and I guess that news of Jeremy's arrest the other night has spread across the town. Great, this is the last thing he needs right now. I turn my head to the side and see that he is doing his best to ignore the stares as we walk through the hallway and give him a comforting smile which he slowly tries to return. Progress I guess.

We separate and go to our first class of the day and I take my usual seat, Bonnie comes in and sits to my left just as Mr Stevenson strolls in looking as arrogant as ever and starts his class. I frown a little when I notice that both Damon _and_ Stefan aren't here yet, I mean, ok, it's not so surprising that Damon isn't here but Stefan is _never_ late.

I realize guiltily that I haven't even spoken to my boyfriend since our date, I only sent him a quick text explaining that I wasn't going to school on Friday and that I'd see him on Monday because I was going on a trip with Jenna and Jeremy and he sent me back a standard reply and I haven't heard from him since.

"Bon," I whisper to my friend who turns to face me while trying not to catch the attention of the teacher. "Where's Stefan?"

Bonnie shrugs as an answer "I haven't seen him today. Maybe he's taking some more time off school? He didn't come in on Friday either."

"He didn't?" I frown confused. "What about Damon?"

"What? Damon? You haven't heard?" Bonnie looks at me completely baffled.

For whatever reason my heartbeat starts to speed up and I can just tell that this is not going to good. "Heard what?"

"Have you not spoken to Stefan?" Bonnie glances at me nervously but I can see that she also seems confused that I haven't spoken to my boyfriend about whatever the hell she seems to know that I don't.

"No. Bonnie, tell me." I push for information, trying to control the anxious feeling in my stomach.

"Damon got arrested on Thursday night; I thought you would have known? I mean wasn't Jeremy in trouble too?"

Arrested? What? Why?

"There was some big fight and someone called the cops," Bonnie continues not catching on to my anxious but confused face. "Damon got arrested for it and he's broken his probation conditions, so apparently he's been in police custody all weekend."

_What_.

I shake my head as a sense of panic hits me. Damon is in police custody? What does that even mean? Why? He wasn't even involved!

"I…I" I stutter while gathering up all of my stuff frantically "I've gotta go!" I jump up to my feet, ignoring Bonnie's and Mr Stevenson's protests and run out of the room and along the hallway towards the car park.

It doesn't take me long to drive to the police station, I may have driven a _little_ over the limit and skipped a few stop signs but I just couldn't believe what was actually happening!

Why was Damon arrested for something that he didn't do? He wasn't even _there_! It's not fair that he's spent the entire weekend in a jail cell and I suddenly feel guilty for not doing something sooner. But then, how could I have known? Stefan never mentioned it! No one thought to send me even just a quick text message to tell me what was going on!

I park my car quickly and run inside, heading straight to the front desk. "I need to see Sheriff Forbes!" I tell the cop breathlessly and he just looks at me with a frown.

"Is this an emergency? You can't just waltz in here whenever you want demanding to see the Sheriff, she's busy."

"It's an emergency! Please, can you just tell her that Elena Gilbert needs to speak to her urgently, she knows me, she'll come." I practically plead with him and I watch as he sighs loudly before getting his lazy ass off his chair and walking to the side to pick up a phone.

"Sheriff, I have a young girl named Elena Gilbert here at the front desk wanting to speak to you." He eyes me suspiciously "She claims it is urgent." He doesn't sound convincing but hangs up and walks back over to his chair. "She'll be down in a moment."

"Thank you." I sigh and run a hand through my hair nervously.

"Elena?" I turn to see Liz open a door and walk quickly towards me "What's wrong? Is everything ok? Is it Caroline?"

I silently curse myself for worrying her about her daughter but now is not the time for apologies. "Caroline is fine Sheriff Forbes, can I speak to you in private? It's important."

She looks at me a little unsure and glances briefly to that annoying cop at the desk but nods her head anyway "Of course, Elena. Follow me."

We walk into her office and I take a seat as she walks around her desk to sit opposite me. I immediately notice a photo of Caroline, myself, and Bonnie that was taken last year at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and smile fondly at the memory but again, now is not the time for this.

"So what did you need to speak to me about that was so urgent? Is everything ok?" I can see the worry on her face and I realize that now behind closed doors she is Liz, my best friend's Mom and no longer Sheriff Forbes.

"It's about Damon." I begin but she cuts me off with a frown.

"Damon Salvatore?"

"Yes." I confirm "He's here, right?"

She frowns a little but answers anyway "Yes, he's in our custody." She tells me cautiously "I'm sorry, Elena, but I'm not quite where this is going?"

"He shouldn't be here!" I find myself getting angry at the thought of Damon locked in a prison cell somewhere in this building right now. "He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Elena," Liz sighs and shakes her head "He broke his probation conditions."

"That's impossible! He wasn't even there that night! Surely Jeremy would have mentioned that when you spoke to him?"

"Your brother would not name anyone who was there that night, Elena. But we have more than one witness who says they saw Damon Salvatore there at the scene."

I scowl confused "That's impossible! Damon was with _me_ on Thursday night."

I watch as a surprised expression quickly crosses her face but it passes and she leans forward in her chair "The incident in question happened in the early hours of Friday morning, it is very possible that _yes_ although you saw Damon on Thursday night, the brawl happened afterwards."

"No," I shake my head "He was with me _all_ night, I helped him with his homework and then we watched a movie until way after the early hours. I promise you Liz, I wouldn't lie to you about this, you know me, and you know I'm not like that."

She actually looks curious and she bites on her bottom lip for a moment before speaking. "What movie did you watch?" she questions me suspiciously.

"The Notebook." I fire back without hesitation and I watch as a look of realization crosses her face, and I get an urge to continue "We watched The Notebook, and when it finished, my Aunt Jenna walked in to tell me about Jeremy and she saw Damon in my room, you can ask her if you don't believe me, she will vouch for him!" When she stays silent I feel the need to continue to defend Damon "So unless you believe that he could be in two places at once, it's impossible that Damon was involved! Your so called _witnesses_ are lying and I have a feeling that one of them is named Kol Mikaelson!" I glare at her furiously.

Liz eyes me carefully for a second before speaking "You care about him, don't you?"

The question catches me off guard and I try to gather my scrambled thoughts together to form a reasonable reply without biting her head off. "He's my friend."

"Hmm." She muses in a tone that I really don't like before standing up and going back to the original subject. "Are you willing to repeat everything you've just told me in a recorded interview and sign a statement confirming it?"

"Yes." I answer confidently.

"And if we brought your Aunt Jenna down here she would do the same?"

"She'd tell you the truth, yes."

"Ok." Liz tells me before sending me a soft smile "You can calm down now, Elena. Damon will most likely be released this afternoon."

A wave of relief hits me and I nod at her gratefully. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiles at me as I stand up before taking a step towards me "But let me say one thing to you, Elena, as your Mom's friend and not the Sheriff." She places her hand on my arm. "Be careful with Damon, he may be innocent this time around but he has done some things in the past where that hasn't been the case."

"I know he has," I admit "But he's changing, I promise. He's a _good_ guy."

"Ok." She nods with a smile "Then I believe you, Elena."

* * *

I'm sat bored in this cold jail cell wondering how the hell I am supposed to get myself out of this one. Giuseppe has already gotten me a lawyer, and although he is pissed off at me for just not confessing and making a deal with the Sheriff, he is actually trying to help me get out of it, even though his intentions are probably more to do with his reputation than protecting me.

Good lawyer or not, the fact is I've spent the past four days in this shit hole and I do not want to stay here for a minute longer! If what Sheriff Forbes said was true about the shooting case being reopened and made into a proper trial then I really am fucking screwed.

I start thinking about maybe just telling her that I was involved, my lawyer says that if I cooperate I'll probably just get my probation extended and a fine, maybe even some community service. Surely that's better than jail? Right?

I drag myself to my feet and walk over to the door before banging on it really hard to get someone's attention. "Hello! Hello! I need to speak with someone!" I bang some more and stop when I hear footsteps.

I get told to stand back and I do as the door opens and there is Sheriff Forbes herself looking at me expectantly. "I have some news." She tells me.

"Yeah, well so do I." I tell her reluctantly.

"Not as good as mine, Salvatore." She actually smiles at me and I frown confused. "Come on." She walks out of the door and motions for me to follow and my frown deepens wondering why she's not going to handcuff me.

"Where are we going?" I ask her suspiciously.

"You have a good friend in Elena Gilbert, Damon." She turns her head to the side and I immediately freeze and come to a stop.

"What?"

Liz turns back around to face me "She's just confirmed your whereabouts on Thursday night." She says simply "I'm sorry that all of this has happened." She actually sounds sincere "But you have to understand that your reputation and the things you have done in the past is what caused this situation, Damon. It's a different world outside of this town; you can't keep getting away with things forever."

"I know that."

"I know you do, and I know that you've changed." She smiles at me "The old Damon Salvatore would have confessed straight away to get yourself out of trouble, but _you_ didn't, because you wanted to do what was right."

I decide to keep quiet about what I was about to do not even 10 minutes ago, because she is right, this time last year I would have confessed without a seconds thought to avoid going to jail, there is no way I would have spent four days in a cell if I knew there was a way to avoid it.

"Stick with Elena, she's good for you." She says with a soft smile before continuing her walk. I watch her for a couple of seconds dumbfounded.

People are usually warning me _away_ from Elena Gilbert.

I snap out of my trance, my heart pounding a little as I follow Liz out of some locked doors and before I know it I've been escorted into the waiting area.

"Damon!" I turn my head to see Elena running towards me with a smile on her face and suddenly she has her arms wrapped around me tightly. I stand still for a second, a little stunned by my greeting before slowly wrapping my arms back around her and letting out a breath of relief that this is now over.

"Thank you." I whisper into her ear and I feel her nod against me.

"Come on," She pulls back from me but keeps her hands on my arms "Let's go get something to eat, I'm sure you want some real food rather than that prison crap!" she pulls me along out of the waiting room and towards the exit.

"Oh and how do _you_ know that prison food tastes like crap? Have you got a confession to make Gilbert? I bet you really weren't at cheer camp that other summer! You naughty little minx!" I smirk at her as we walk towards her car.

"Shut up!" Elena giggles and smacks my arm. "You have to be nice to me from now on Salvatore!"

"And why's that?" I challenge with a grin.

"Because I just saved your ass." She grins back as we climb into the car and I chuckle a little before sighing loudly and turning to face her with a smile.

"I know."

"And don't you forget it!"

* * *

We decide to go to that bar again just outside of town where Damon took me those few weeks ago when we first started to get close. We figured it would be for the best to be away from prying eyes and the whispers since apparently everyone in town was aware of Damon's arrest but me!

I watch with a smile as Damon walks back towards me where I'm sat in our booth and takes a seat opposite, his phone still held in his hand. "How was it?" I question motioning to the phone to where he's just been speaking to his father.

"Fine," he comments with a small nod "He's just happy he no longer has to fork out the cash to keep paying our lawyer." He grins a little but I can tell that it's forced but I choose not to say anything.

"Man I'm stuffed off those burgers, they really are the best!" I rub my belly and lean back closing my eyes slightly "We should probably head back to town soon though, I'm sure you have things to discuss with your family and I told Caroline I would go shopping with her after school."

"Sure." Damon stands up with a smile and we walk back towards my car "I just want to say thank you, Elena, again." He says sincerely as I go to step in the car but realize he doesn't go to get in next to me.

"You've already thanked me like ten times already, Salvatore!" I try to lighten the mood "Now come on, get your lazy ass in the car!"

"Nah." He shakes his head "I think I'm gonna stay for a little while longer, enjoy my freedom."

I frown a little, not sure if I want to leave him out here by himself. "Are you sure?"

"Yep! You go and shop and do girly things with Caroline. Don't mind me."

"I can stay?" I offer hesitantly feeling like he is only pushing me to leave because he feels he has too rather than he wants too.

"Elena," He smiles firmly at me "You go and have fun, I'm a big boy, I can look after myself."

"Ok." I force a smile back "I'll see you tomorrow at school?" I ask hopefully and watch as Damon slowly nods his head.

"Of course." He nods and I smile before climbing into my car, watching as Damon stands to wave me off as I drive away and I can't help but feel a little disappointed that he isn't sitting here right next to me.

* * *

I walk back into the bar and immediately order a beer with a whiskey chaser, taking a seat at the bar and downing the whiskey in one before starting on the beer. I look around the almost empty bar with a sigh, knowing that it will fill up soon enough but I'll still be sat here on my own.

I don't know why I feel so disappointed that Elena left, she's missed an entire day of school to help save my ass and then drove me out here for lunch but I still feel a little saddened that she's not sitting here next to me right now.

I realize as I order another drink that my feelings for her are getting stronger and her saving me from a trial and a possible prison sentence today hasn't exactly helped me try to ignore those feelings.

She's my brother's girl, and as much as Stefan and I have a…troubled…relationship, I know I can't go there. Not that she'd want to anyway, she loves my brother.

"Two bottles of beer and two shots of tequila please." A very familiar voice comes next to me and I swing around in my stool with wide eyes when I see a smirking face looking back at me. "What are you looking so shocked for Salvatore? This is tradition, right?"

I sit flabbergasted and she reaches over and presses my jaw shut with her fingers with a chuckle before taking a seat on the stool next to me as the barman puts our drinks down in front of us and she picks up both of the shots before handing one to me.

"You just going to sit and stare at me or are we going to share a toast to another thrilling year of your uneventful boring life?" she grins.

I let out a laugh and click our glasses together with a grin of my own before we both down the tequila in one.

"Happy birthday, Damon." She stands up and wraps her arms around me in a hug and I sigh relieved at the familiarity before hugging her back.

"Thank you, Rose."

* * *

As I follow Caroline into yet another store I try to keep my mind on the story she is telling me rather than the dark haired Salvatore who has consumed my thoughts for pretty much the entire day.

I can't ignore how petrified and scared I felt when I found out Damon was in jail and at that point I didn't even care whether Stefan would be upset or pissed if he found out where Damon really was that night. It didn't concern me; all that mattered was getting Damon out of there and I realize that there is something wrong with that statement.

Stefan is my boyfriend, not Damon.

"Elena? Are you even listening to a word I've been saying?" Caroline turns around to face me in a huff holding out two tops.

"Huh? Sorry, I was in a world of my own there." I apologize while snapping out of my thoughts and glancing between the two tops Caroline has picked up. "I like the red one."

"Good choice." A deep voice interrupts us and I turn around to see Stefan standing behind us with a small smile on his face.

"Hi." I say surprised as he leans down and gives me a quick peck on the lips.

"Hey." He smiles back and I realize from the look on his face that he hasn't found out that I'm Damon's alibi yet and I start to run different sentences in my head to try and work out the best way to tell him.

"What are you doing here?" I ask confused and look around to see that he is by himself.

"Last minute birthday presents." Stefan holds up a bag. "I walked past and saw you and Caroline, thought I would come in and say hello."

"Well I'm glad you did." I tell him genuinely, and I am, he _is_ my boyfriend and I have missed him, especially since I haven't seen him all weekend.

"Urgh, Elena, this is a _girls_ shopping trip!" Caroline hints at me in annoyance and both Stefan and I chuckle a little before he takes a step back and Caroline scurries off into the changing rooms.

"I guess that's my cue." He runs his hand down my arm "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." I nod my head with a smile.

"Elena!" Caroline shouts of me from the changing rooms hurrying me up.

"Sorry." I apologize with a cringe at my best friends behavior.

"I still have more gifts to buy anyway, I always leave things to the last minute, it's his birthday today!" He motions to his bag and I laugh because it's true.

"Wait, who's birthday is it anyway?" I ask confused and try to think if I've forgotten to get gifts myself but nothing comes to mind, besides, Caroline would have reminded me if it was a friend of ours.

"Damon's." Stefan explains casually before taking another step back as my heart starts to pound fast against my chest "See you later, Caroline!" he shouts in her direction before turning around and leaving the store.

What?

It's Damon's birthday? _Today_?

"Fuck." I whisper and look helplessly around the store as a sudden wave of guilt hits me. Why did he not tell me?!

* * *

It took me longer than I hoped to get rid of Caroline but eventually I dropped her off home and made a quick U-turn to head back towards the bar I left Damon at a few hours ago, praying that he is still there since he is not answering his phone or replying to my text messages.

I hit my foot on the accelerator as I head towards the edge of town, annoyed at myself for not knowing this crucial information about a guy I have spent so much time with over the past couple of months but more annoyed at Damon for not telling me. I would have done something special with him; I would have bought him a gift, I would have done _something_.

After what feels like forever I finally get to the bar and quickly jump out, suddenly feeling nervous about seeing him. Do I tell him that I know that it's his birthday? Do I shout at him for not telling me or do I just go on as normal? I don't know what I'm planning on doing or saying to him when I get inside, I just hope that he is still there.

He is.

I walk into the bar and my eyes are immediately drawn to him sat in a booth with a very pretty and familiar looking girl. I frown as I see that Damon's arm is casually wrapped around her shoulder as he laughs loudly and slams his fist against the table to something she is saying and I realize that I've rarely seen Damon laugh like that with _anyone_ and an unsettling feeling crosses me and I feel stupid for even coming here.

Of course Damon would be fine without me.

I'm about to turn around and leave when Damon lifts his head up and he catches my eye. My stomach flutters as a wide smile crosses his lips and he practically jumps out of the booth and heads straight towards me.

"ELENA!" He shouts my name over the music but I can tell immediately that he's a little tipsy. "You're back!" he is in front of me now and I'm surprised when he wraps his arms happily around me and pulls me into a hug, something which I can't ignore and I wrap my arms back around him.

I pull back a little, still staying in his arms and I can't help but smile at the massive grin on his face and that unsettling feeling has long gone as he looks at me like I'm the only person in the room and it makes me blush. "Hi." I whisper, feeling overwhelmed by the way he is looking at me right now.

"Hi." He smiles back and runs a hand through my hair, pushing some out of my face. "You came back."

"It's your birthday," I reply simply "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." I tell him like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and when it is just me and Damon, stood close together like this, the rest of the world is forgotten about and it really is that obvious and that simple. "Happy birthday." I grin before placing my hands on his shoulders, my left fist leaving it for a second before punching him.

"Oy!" Damon pouts and removes the hand that was playing with my hair to rub his arm, his bottom lip sticking out slightly and it makes me giggle. "What the hell was that for?"

"For not telling me what day it is! I spent two hours with you here earlier and you didn't say a single word!"

Damon shrugs a little, not looking very apologetic as he places both of his hands on each side of my face before leaning down and kissing my forehead. I gulp slightly and let out a shaky breath as he pulls away, not expecting that at all.

"Sorry." He tells me sincerely "Next year, I'll tell you!"

"Yeah well it's too late for next year." I tell him with a grin "The 2nd November, already written in my diary buddy! I'll remember!"

"Fine, fine!" he rolls his eyes before pulling away from me and casually wrapping one arm around my shoulder. "Come on, I want you to come and meet someone very important to me!" he stumbles a little as he walks and I laugh and wrap my arm around his waist to keep him steady as we walk back over to the booth he was at and I had completely forgotten about that stupid pretty girl he was sat with.

Someone important to him?

"Rose!" Damon grins as we reach the table and I watch feeling a little uncomfortable as Rose eyes us suspiciously, a knowing smile on her lips. "I want you to meet the most awesome, prettiest girl in the world, Elena Gilbert!" he pretty much pushes me in front of him and Rose stands up with a smirk and offers her hand which I hesitantly shake as I realize how I recognized her. She was in Damon's class in school, but she was also the most notorious girl in Mystic Falls High School, all girls feared her and tried to keep out of her way, even Caroline! "Elena, this is Rose, a very very good friend of mine!"

"Little Elena Gilbert." She smirks at me "Look at you, all grown up."

"Wait?" Damon eyes us both "You two know each other?" he smiles at the news but it's not good news for me.

"Yeah, Rose used to steal my lunch money every Friday in third _and_ fourth grade." I tell him with a frown.

Damon laughs, he actually has the nerve to _laugh_ about this, and turns to face Rose with a chuckle "Man, you're so badass, even as a kid!" Rose shrugs, as if to say _what can you do_ and Damon laughs a little more before squeezing my shoulder. "Well, you won't be stealing anything from her tonight!" he says in a mock threatening tone before looking down at me with a reassuring smile that makes me feel a lot better.

"No." Rose looks at Damon a little amused before turning back to face me, her smirk gone and now just a genuine smile on her face. "Let me go and buy you a drink, Elena, to apologize for my eight year old's self behavior." She says sincerely and I raise my eyes a little skeptic. "What's your poison?"

"Something soft, I'm driving." I explain but Rose just laughs and shakes her head before walking away and I just _know_ that she is going to return with something alcoholic.

"Don't worry about her." Damon tells me with a smile as he motions for me to sit down in the booth and he follows, sitting beside me. "College has tamed her!"

"I'm not worried about her." I reply honestly, and I'm not, Rose stopped scaring me when I hit puberty. "You, however, seem a little worse for wear!" I pat his chest and look into his icy blue eyes which are a little bloodshot from the large amount of alcohol I am assuming he has consumed.

"Meh." Damon shrugs and leans forward so our foreheads are almost touching "Unlike you, Gilbert, I can handle my liquor!"

I scoff and smirk "Is this a challenge?"

"If you must call it that, then sure, it's a challenge." He grins at me and taps his finger against my nose causing me to squeeze my eyes shut for a second, opening them up just in time to see Rose walking towards us with a tray of drinks.

I reach over and immediately take a shot, downing it in one before stealing Damon's and doing the same and turn to look back at him and watch amused as he laughs loudly before I glance at Rose who actually looks impressed.

"I like this girl, Salvatore. You need to keep her around!" she says amused as she sits opposite us in the booth.

"Oh she is not going anywhere!" Damon smirks at me and I grin back before knocking my bottle of beer against his own in harmony.

* * *

I think it's safe to say that a couple of hours later I am completely smashed. I walk out of the ladies bathroom and eye Damon with a smile as he struggles to work the jukebox in his drunken state, and even though I am pretty drunk myself, I am not as bad as he is right now.

"What's your deal, Elena?" I jump slightly, not expecting someone to come up beside me and peel my eyes away from Damon to see Rose looking at me suspiciously.

"Excuse me?" I ask confused, not understanding her question or the intention behind it. I thought we were getting along tonight; we were having fun, weren't we?

"What's your deal with Damon?"

"He's my friend." I reply confused as I lean back against the wall, my drunken self too unsteady to keep myself upright for too long.

"Friend, right." Rose nods her head slowly and glances at Damon for a second before turning back to face me "And you're dating his brother?"

I frown, not sure where she is going with his. "Yes."

"Don't mess him around." She tells me firmly, her voice taking a colder stance and I immediately feel pissed off.

"Excuse me?" I push myself away from the wall and have no problem standing steady on my feet anymore. "I'm not messing him around!"

"Maybe not intentionally." Rose shrugs "But he likes you and I don't just mean as a friend." She tells me and my heart starts to pound against my chest. "I've never seen him so happy, not even when he was with Katherine." I bite on my lip nervously at her words, she can't be right, surely? "I don't want him to get hurt again, Elena."

"I won't hurt him!" I defend myself quickly, feeling offended by her comment. I would never hurt Damon, he is so beautiful inside and out, you'd have to be a monster to ever want to hurt him.

"There's some things that happened with Katherine that you're not aware of, Elena, something that happened that broke his heart and I never want to see him like that again, he's my best friend and I love him like a brother and looking at him tonight, with you, gives me _hope_ that he is finally over that bitch and is getting his life turned around."

I frown confused at her words. What happened with Katherine apart from her dying that hurt Damon? And why the hell is Rose calling her a bitch?

My drunken mind is too frazzled to deal with this.

"Look." Rose sighs loudly and steps forward, placing a hand on my arm. "I like you, Elena, a lot actually, and I don't like a lot of people." She says it like I should be honored by this or something. "And anyone with half a brain cell can see how good you are for Damon, you make him a better person and that makes _me_ happy. Please don't hurt him, I know he's your friend and that you wouldn't intentionally do anything, but please, I don't want to him to hurt again." Her eyes are softer now and I can even see some fear and it makes me feel nervous because she obviously knows Damon better than I do, _unfortunately_, and she can see that he is getting better and for some reason, that makes _me_ feel proud.

"Damon staying out of trouble and becoming a better person isn't because of me." I tell her seriously "It's because of Damon, because he _is_ a good person." I look back over at him and can't help the laugh that escapes my lips as he almost trips over himself in his drunken stupor "I won't hurt him, I could never hurt him." I say quietly and watch as he raises his head and catches my eye, a smile crossing his lips as he waves me over and I walk towards him without a second thought or glance at Rose because that's all I can think of to do.

"Elena!" he reaches his arms out and pulls me towards him when I'm close enough and motions to the jukebox. "Come on, help me pick a song we can dance too! We need to dance!" he laughs at himself and I turn around to look at the songs at the jukebox, browsing each one and trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach as Damon wraps his arms around me from behind and places his chin on my shoulder, leaning against me.

Somewhere in my drunken brain, a sober part of me is telling me to take a step back, that I have a boyfriend and the way Damon is holding me right now, and the way I am _enjoying_ it, isn't right. But that part of me is drowned out the second Damon holds me tighter and lets out a drunken giggle into my ear before pressing a warm kiss to my cheek that makes my _entire_ body shiver.

Screw what's supposedly right, because nothing feels more _right_ than this right now.

"I've found one." I smile contently and turn around, placing my hands on Damon's shoulders and push him backwards, his arms still wrapped tightly around my waist bringing me with him onto the dance floor.

The song that was previously playing changes and I watch as a knowing smile crosses Damon's face as he recognizes the song.

Feel So Close by Calvin Harris blares through the speakers and the people dancing around us cheer and continue dancing but all I can see is Damon as we start to move to the beat, our arms starting to move around each other's body and all I can feel is absolute _euphoria_.

Damon looks so happy right now and in turn that makes me happy. He runs a finger down my arm that is wrapped around his neck as we jump around together to the music, never once breaking our connection as we always find a way to keep each other held in each of our arms as we dance, the music blaring as we're lost in our own little world.

The song continues and Damon steps closer to me, his head dipping next to my ear. "Elena!" I try to focus on his words as his lips graze against my ear as he speaks. "I just…this is the best birthday ever, thank you!" he pulls his head away with a grin and I grin widely back as we continue to dance, Damon not stepping back and I realize with a gulp that our bodies are pressed together as I run a hand through his thick black hair.

Damon's eyes are looking directly into mine and I can feel my heart pounding hard and fast against my chest. "Damon." I whisper when I look down to realize our lips are practically touching and I look back up to see Damon's gaze is rested on my own as the music plays loudly around us, the lyrics hitting me with a thud.

_And there's no stopping us right now._

He dips his head slowly towards me and his lips lightly touch mine in a small soft kiss that makes my entire body tingle I'm too stunned to return and I gasp shakily as he hesitantly pulls away and looks straight into my eyes, his blue eyes consuming me.

_I feel so close to you right now._

"Damon." I whisper his name again and I'm not sure why because I don't know what to do. My mind and my body are telling me two different things right now.

"It's ok." He whispers back as the song finishes and changes but I can still hear him over the music. "It's ok, Elena." He repeats himself and I prepare myself to kiss him back this time as he leans forward again but he surprises me when this time it's to press a long slow kiss to my forehead. He eventually steps back from me with a small smile and I stand frozen, unsure of what to do or say. "Rose will take you home." He tells me in a soft tone before turning around and walking away before I can even process what has just happened.

I let out a shaky breath as my eyes start to burn and I struggle to catch my breath and I turn to the side to see Rose standing watching me, with a sad knowing smile on her face before she walks towards me.

"I understand it now." she tells me as she eyes me up and down "You like him too." She says simply before motioning for me to follow her and I do because I don't know what else I can do.

Her words are ringing in my ears throughout the entire cab ride home, as I stumble quietly into the house and up to my room, as I take a shower to wash away the smell of stale beer, as I lie in bed trying to force sleep upon me.

It's not until I wake up the next morning, feeling a little hung-over and worse for wear, when the words she has spoken finally hit me and my actions and behavior with Damon last night smack me right in the face.

I like him too.

* * *

**So there it is, quite a big chapter I think, in many ways! I hope you liked it and please review to tell me what you thought, they do inspire to me to write more and type out big chapters like this!**

**I hope you all liked it and that it wasn't too long and too much to take in!**

**Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, means a lot and I'll try and reply to each of you personally this time around.**

**Until next time :) **


	12. Chapter 12

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

_**April 2012**_

"What are you doing, Damon?"

I look up to see Rose walk towards me as I'm sat on my usual step at the old bike sheds. "Sorry?"

"What are you doing?" she looks almost defeated and it confuses me as she takes a seat next to me on the step "I'm worried about you."

"About me?" I ask confused "Why the hell would you be worried about me?"

"I'm worried about you because of Katherine."

"Oh no, not this again, Rose!" I shake my head in annoyance and stand up. "I know you don't like her, but I love her, she's my girlfriend, so whatever you're about to say, don't."

"I've heard rumors." She starts and I hold my arm out interrupting her.

"Rumors? Really? There are rumors about everyone every day in this damn town, Rose! Just please, give me a break!"

"It's about Klaus!" Rose jumps to her feet "There are rumors about Katherine and Klaus."

"Yeah and who do you think started those rumors? I'll give you a clue; his name begins with K and ends with Laus!" I huff "He's trying to piss me off!"

"What is it with Katherine that makes you lose your common sense, Damon? Why do you never see clearly when it comes to her!"

"I see things very clearly!" I scowl "And right now, all I see is someone who is supposed to be a good friend of mine listening to stupid rumors made up by a jealous bitter asshole who would do or say anything to piss me off!"

"It's not just about Klaus, Damon!" she raises her voice a little "She manipulates you! She has you wrapped around that perfectly manicured finger of hers and you don't even see it!" she sighs and takes a step closer to me "Damon, I love you like a brother, which is why I'm telling you this, take a step back from Katherine, you don't see what I see, what our friends see, she's trouble and she is going to hurt you."

I shake my head and glare at her furiously "No, you need to take a step back, Rose! Katherine isn't going to hurt me, she loves me and I love her, the quicker you and my so called _friends_ understand that the better!" I hiss at her furiously before turning around and storming away.

Ignoring all the warning signs in my head.

* * *

It's not until a couple of days later when I see my girlfriend having an intense conversation with Klaus in the deserted school car park when Rose's words come back to me.

I know they used to have a _thing_ but that was ages ago and Katherine hates Klaus almost as much as I do now, or at least that's what I thought.

I frown as I walk a little closer, and watch as Klaus places his hand on Katherine's face. I hold my breath for a second as I watch the scene play out before me and I watch as my girlfriend stands still for a second before placing her on hand on Klaus's and moving it away, much to my relief.

Katherine turns around and walks away, getting into her car and speeding out of the car park without looking back and I watch interested as Klaus stands frozen and watches her go.

"You know, eavesdropping is extremely rude." Klaus turns around to face me with his usual cocky smirk on his lips that I just want to punch right off.

"If I was eavesdropping, you'd know." I glare at him as I step closer.

"Oh I would, I'm sure." Klaus chuckles and stands with his hands behind his back almost as if he thinks he is superior to me. "I'm sure if you had just heard that conversation right now you wouldn't be looking so calm, Salvatore." I frown a little at his words and take another step closer.

"I think I saw enough." I smirk "Katherine is _my_ girlfriend, she wants _me_, not _you_, I think she made that pretty clear just now!"

"Oh you think you know everything don't you!" Klaus takes two giant leaps towards me so we are now face to face. "You know _nothing_!" he shouts in my face but I don't even flinch.

"I know that Katherine is going to be in my bed tonight, just like your sister was that time I fucked her." I smirk and before I know it Klaus has me pinned against a random car, his hand wrapped around my neck choking me.

"I've had just about enough of you, Salvatore!" he grips my neck tighter and I struggle to breath while trying to break out of his grasp. "You think you can mess with me? Mess with my sister and get away with it? No! You can't just waltz back in to Mystic Falls thinking you own the place, steal my girl from me and get away with it!" his grip loosens a little as his words leave his mouth and I take the opportunity to lean my head back before slamming it back against his in a head butt.

Klaus gasps in pain and moves away from me, clutching his head in pain as my own forehead tingles in agony but I ignore it before kneeing Klaus in the stomach and pushing him to the ground.

"I'll do whatever the hell I want, Klaus!" I hiss down at him coldly as he crawls to his feet. "You stay the hell away from me and Katherine, you hear me!"

Klaus laughs bitterly and finally removes his hand from his head and looks at me with the evilest smile I have ever seen. "This isn't over until I say it's over, Damon."

"That's where you're wrong, Klaus," I take a step forward "Because I've won, I _always_ win."

Klaus chuckles bitterly. "We'll see about that." He threatens me and when I refuse to back down he takes a step back. "Friday night, bring your boys to the old warehouse just outside of town, we will finish this once and for all."

I shrug casually "Your funeral."

Klaus smirks and turns around to walk towards his car, his voice travelling back in the dark air. "We'll see, Salvatore, we'll see."

* * *

_**Present Time**_

Things have changed between Elena and I since my birthday two weeks ago, it's not in an obvious way, but something has shifted between us and I know that she notices it too.

Maybe it was the fact that I kissed her, probably, most likely. I'm still not sure why I did that, ok, that's a lie, I know why I did that. I did it because I think she is truly the most amazing, beautiful and stunning girl I've ever met, inside and out, and when we were dancing, our bodies touching, our hands exploring each other, I knew that I couldn't _not_ kiss her.

In my drunken haze, I screwed over the consequences and did it. It wasn't a spectacular kiss, it was just a simple graze, my lips on hers for a few seconds but it was the best kiss I've ever had, because it was with Elena.

I've realized now that I'm done. I can't deny it anymore, I have feelings for my brother's girlfriend and it sucks because she can never be mine, even without Stefan. I'm a mess, and she is perfect and I can't compete with that.

I don't deserve her, but my brother does and at the end of the day, all I want is for Elena to be happy and if that is with Stefan, then so be it.

I can live with that.

Or at least I'll try too.

At the end of the day, I need Elena in my life, it is that simple. I'll take her as a friend, best friend, close friend, good friend, whatever, I'll take her, because the thought of not hearing her laugh again, seeing her smile, listening to her unique voice, just hurts my heart in ways that it's never hurt before.

I don't want to lose any of that just because I can't control myself around her. I need to learn how to behave, to keep my boundaries.

We never spoke about the kiss, the next day at school I saw her standing alone by her locker so I took a deep breath, walked over and offered to carry her books just like I did every day if she was alone. She smiled and said thank you and we walked to our first class together as if the night before hadn't happened.

I tried to keep my distance from her a little but not so much as to be avoiding her, everything stayed the same, we sat next to each other in class, we joked around, teased each other, some days she would join me and Alaric for lunch. It was the same as before, but only this time we weren't sneaking out of town into bars, or I wasn't climbing into her bedroom at night to watch chick flicks.

We were the same, but we were different.

We were behaving like real friends do, and I realize that's all we'll ever be, that's all Elena will ever want from me so I'm going to make sure that I will be the best friend she has ever had.

"Mr Saltzman." I nod my head in greeting as I walk into his classroom at lunch time, a little disappointed to see an empty seat where Elena usually sits but I think I mask it well.

"Mr Salvatore, how lovely to see you on this fine day." He grins at me before handing me a sandwich, just like he does every day. I take it with a smile and take my usual seat on the front row opposite his desk and watch as Alaric sits back in his chair and puts his feet on top of the table.

"I uh, I wanted to tell you something."

"This sounds ominous." Alaric removes his feet from the table and I let out a nervous laugh.

"It's not, not really." I look down at my hands for a second before glancing back up at Ric. "I want to start looking into this whole college thing."

I watch as a smile spreads across his face and he slams down his hand against the desk "Yes!" he grins in triumph and I roll my eyes. "Finally, Salvatore! I thought you were never going to back down!"

"Yeah well, I need an excuse to escape this backwards town." I shrug a little and Alaric chuckles before nodding his head in agreement.

"Any ideas?" He asks while standing up and walking around his desk to stand in front of me. "What are you thinking of studying? History?"

"Hey now, I'd rather not die with boredom every day for the next four years of my life!" I tease.

"I can write you a bad reference you know!" he mockingly threatens me before smirking. "In all seriousness though Damon, what are you thinking?"

"I'm not sure yet, English Literature, maybe? I may even be tempted to do a little History." I shrug, not liking all this attention but liking it at the same time, even though that doesn't make sense but that is how I feel right now.

"You've got plenty of time to decide, Damon. Don't rush it, do what you think is right." He tells me reassuringly and I nod my head in thanks. "You thought of where you want to go?"

"Well, I know my grades aren't perfect and I doubt people are going to be negotiating with me to go to them like they do with Stefan, so I'm not sure, I thought maybe you could help me out with that?"

"Of course," Alaric tells me firmly "Whatever I can do to help, just let me know, Damon, I want this for you and I know you can do it, you just have to believe in yourself."

Yeah, easier said than done Ric!

* * *

I'm walking through the hallway with Stefan as he explains to me something important that happened in training as he throws a football up and down in his hands as we walk when I hear someone call my name. We both stop and turn around to see Mr Saltzman walking quickly towards us.

"Hey Ric." I smile in greeting, using his first name since we aren't technically in class.

"Elena, Stefan." He nods in greeting to us both before turning back to me "I wanted to ask you a favor, Elena, if you don't mind."

"Yeah sure of course." I nod my head.

"If you're free anytime this week, I think it would be great if you looked at some colleges with Damon." He explains with a proud smile and I can't help the one that crosses my own.

"Wait? He wants to look at colleges?" I ask surprised and excited.

"A huh." Alaric confirms with a nod "He doesn't seem to know what direction to take though, so I was hoping you could help him?"

"Of course," I nod my head with a grin quickly in agreement "I'd love to that."

"Wait?" Stefan interrupts us "Damon? As in my brother, Damon?" he asks confused and when Alaric nods his head he lets out a small laugh.

"What's funny?" I ask confused.

"Are you kidding?" Stefan laughs again and actually looks genuinely surprised when he realizes both me and Alaric don't see what's so funny! "Damon and college? Come on guys, he's messing with you!" he shakes his head with a smile, as if Damon wanting to go to college was the craziest thing in the world.

"No I think he was being pretty serious." Alaric tells Stefan with a frown and crosses his arms against his chest. "You don't think he wants to go to college?"

"No." Stefan fires back quickly, still looking a little amused. "It's _Damon_, I mean he's my brother and all and I love him but the boy probably can't even spell education!" he laughs.

"Stefan!" I scowl at him angrily "What is wrong with you? You're so rude!"

"What?" Stefan actually looks surprised by my anger. "I'm just saying, my brother isn't exactly college material!"

"Unlike you baby bro, who only knows exactly how to throw a ball and how to run across a field to be college compatible?" I turn around with a cringe to see Damon approaching us. "Discussing my future, are you?" he motions to the three of us.

"Damon." Alaric tries to appease the situation but I know that there is no use. He sighs loudly before warning them both not to start any trouble before excusing himself, and I wish I could walk away from this situation so easily.

"What's this about college then, big bro?" Stefan looks at Damon amused "You can't be serious?"

"No more serious than you wanting to throw a ball around for the rest of your life, brother." He replies in a cold tone with an icy smile to match as he reaches out and pulls the football out of Stefan's hands.

"At least I want to do something with my life, Damon, it's not my fault you're not good enough to go pro."

Damon laughs loudly and throws the ball in the air before catching it. "Aren't you forgetting who taught you how to play this stupid game?"

"No. You did, and then I got better than you." Stefan replies confidently and I roll my eyes.

"Can we stop with the competitive brother routine? It's boring." I huff as Damon eyes me with a smirk that makes my entire body shiver.

"I agree." Damon nods at me before turning back to Stefan. "You're boring your girl, baby bro." he pushes the football hard against his brothers chest and steps back, looking at us both with a mocking smile and I don't know why but it makes me feel nervous "Have a nice day." He says simply before turning around and walking away and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Ass." Stefan mutters under his breath coldly and I turn to face him with a frown.

"Are you serious?"

"What?" Stefan asks confused and I roll my eyes with a groan before walking away. "Elena!" he shouts after me but I keep on walking.

* * *

"I think I need to break up with Stefan." The words escape my lips before I can even stop them and I watch as Bonnie turns her heard towards me stunned as we sit on her bed in her room later on that night.

I decided that I was in serious need of a girl's night, and I knew I had to have this conversation with Bonnie alone before Caroline got here because I'm not sure on what her stance with Damon is right now. I know that nothing really happened between them, I mean, they kissed at a party, it didn't go any further, they aren't even close to being friends. But I know that Caroline had a crush on him, and I know my best friend, so if she finds out that something may or may not have happened between Damon and me, she will probably accuse me of breaking some sort of girl code.

"Seriously?" she asks a little shocked and I nod my head slowly and bite on my lower lip nervously. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" I sigh and run a hand through my hair.

"Damon?" she questions hesitantly and I nod silently as I let out a shaky nervous breath. This is the first time I've ever admitted to having some kind of feelings towards the eldest Salvatore brother out loud. "Are you sure, Elena? You and Stefan have been together a long time."

"I know." I nod and squeeze my eyes shut "But I just don't feel the same about him anymore. It's not a phase, Bonnie." I tell her firmly "Even without Damon involved, I think I would be feeling the same."

"But Damon is involved." Bonnie points out. "How do you feel about him, Elena?"

That is the ultimate question, isn't it?

"I don't know." I confess seriously "Damon just kind of snuck up on me, when I'm with him, he just _consumes_ me, even if we're doing boring mundane things like our homework, I forget about everything and everyone around us."

Bonnie looks at me cautiously before sighing "I'm not going to lie and say that I think this is a good thing, Elena, you're my best friend and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Damon would never hurt me." I tell her, the one thing I know I can be confident about "You don't know him like I do, Bon, he's a good guy, he's just been through a lot and ok, I know his history is far from perfect but he's changing every day, you just need to give him a chance."

"And where does Stefan fit into all of this? Are you just going to dump him then start dating his brother?"

"No of course not!" I immediately defend myself "I don't even know if anything might happen with Damon and I, he's a friend, I don't want to ruin things between us and besides I don't even know how he feels." I frown a little thinking back to his birthday two weeks ago when he kissed me and I decide to leave that part out. "But the fact of the matter is, I can't be with Stefan when I'm thinking about another guy, and the fact that this guy also happens to be Stefan's brother just makes it even more complicated."

Bonnie nods her head slowly and reaches out to take my hand in hers "Elena, you're my best friend and at the end of the day I'll support you in anything that you decide to do, I may not agree with it, but I'll support you."

"Thank you." I tell her sincerely because I know that this is as good as I'm going to get with Bonnie about Damon. I guess in a way she is just looking out for me, before I got to know Damon I thought he was pretty much a monster. The stories I'd heard, the fights I'd seen him in at school with Klaus, I never would have thought in a million years that that same boy would become one of the most important people in my life.

My phone vibrates against Bonnie's bedside table and I reach over and grab it to see a text message from Stefan.

_**I know its your girls night  
but you need to come over.  
I need to talk to you about  
something.**_

I frown looking down at the text, at his words and the fact that he hasn't put any kisses on the end and I realize that this isn't something good.

I sigh before giving him a short reply that I'll be there soon before glancing at Bonnie apologetically. "I'm sorry, Stefan needs to talk to me about something, it seems serious."

Bonnie nods her head in understanding and we both stand up and walk downstairs and before I leave she pulls me in for a hug.

"Take your time with this, Elena." She tells me seriously as we pull away from each other. "I know that you think breaking up with Stefan is the right thing to do, but there is no rush, the last thing you want to do is make a decision that you will later regret. Take some time to think about it."

I nod my head in agreement, knowing she has a point before leaving and walking towards my car. A little nervous about what Stefan wants to talk to me about.

* * *

"Little Gilbert, fancy seeing you here!" I pat Jeremy on the back as stand beside him, wondering why he is standing outside of the Grill on his own! "Are you not going inside? I hear that is where the food is!"

Jeremy rolls his eyes at me before glancing around nervously. "Not now, Damon."

I look at him amused as he shifts on his feet and I realize for the first time that he is not wearing his standard hoody with jeans. He looks smart.

"Oh hang on!" I take a step back and make a point to eye him up and down and watch as he looks a little uncomfortable. "Does Little Gilbert have a date?" I ask amused.

"Shut up!" He snaps defensively before taking another nervous glance around "It's not a date, ok?"

"No?" I lean back against the wall of the Grill and watch him amused "It sure looks as though you're waiting for your date. Nice shoes, by the way." I grin and motion to his smart dress shoes he's wearing and laugh when he moves his feet self-consciously.

"Please, can you just go?" Oh man he is _so_ nervous!

"So, who's the lucky lady?" I question him "It is a lady, right?"

"Yes!" I chuckle at his quick reply and watch as he actually blushes, oh Gilbert, you are such an easy target! "Her name is Anna." He finally gives in with a sigh.

"Anna huh?" I muse aloud and raise my eyebrows. "That doesn't sound like Vicki."

I watch as Jeremy scowls at me "Vicki and I were never together."

"No?"

"No." he replies firmly "She was just messing with me." He mutters and I can hear the hurt and bitterness in his voice and it makes me want to go a little easy on him. He is Elena's brother after all.

"You were too good for her anyway." I tell him simply and watch as Jeremy snaps his head up to look at me surprised. "What?" I question his shocked look "It's Vicki Donovan; it's not really that much of a compliment to be too good for her!" I roll my eyes slightly and a small laugh escapes his lips.

"You're an ass, you know that right?"

"Meh," I shrug with a smirk "I've been told so once or twice." He lets out another chuckle and shakes his head before looking anxiously down at his watch. "Hey," I take a step towards him, regaining his attention "Don't look so nervous, you'll be fine."

"It's not a date." Jeremy tries to convince me but he fails _terribly_.

I roll my eyes and continue as if he hasn't even said anything "Just put on some of your Gilbert charm and you'll be fine, just tell her she looks pretty and make her laugh, it's that simple."

"You think _that's_ the key to a successful date?" he questions me skeptically and I grin.

"I thought you said it wasn't a date?" I watch as his cheeks redden and I laugh before patting him on the shoulder. "Look, it's clearly your first date with the girl, so just take it easy and have some fun, there's no pressure."

"And what makes you the expert?"

I smirk "If you must know, I have a lot of experience with the ladies and I happen to be known for being good at wooing a girl."

"Right," Jeremy smirks at me "And that is why Elena is dating your brother and _not_ you, right?"

I chuckle and shake my head "Touché Little Gilbert." I give him this one before glancing behind him to see a very nervous girl slowly and hesitantly walking towards us and I'm guessing this is Anna. "Good luck, not that you'll need it." I pat him again on the back motioning with my head to look behind him before walking away with a grin on my face as Jeremy swings around quickly to face Anna.

* * *

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Stefan turns around to face me as I hesitantly walk into his bedroom and close his door behind me.

I stay silent as he waits for me to reply and I try to think of what this could be about and I realize how much of a crappy girlfriend I've been because this can really be about a lot of things that I've done lately.

"No?" Stefan shakes his head at me in disbelief "You're not going to say anything?"

I run my hand through my hair nervously, never seeing him look so mad at me before. "I'm sorry." I mumble, not exactly sure what I'm even apologizing for.

Man, I am the worst girlfriend _ever_.

"So you give my brother an alibi to the Sheriff telling her that you were with Damon for a whole night and you don't think that is something you should mention to your _boyfriend_?" he questions me in disbelief.

Ok, so it's about the alibi. Not great, but better than him finding out what happened on Damon's birthday.

"You spent the night with my brother, Elena!" he shouts at me furiously.

"It's not how it sounds, ok!" I immediately go to defend myself "I was helping him with a calculus assignment!"

"Jesus." Stefan mutters under his breath as a look of realization crosses his face "We were on a date that night, weren't we? I took you to that fancy restaurant and you were quiet all night, claiming you were _tired_ and wanted to go home!" he looks at me in disbelief "And all along you had my _brother_ waiting in the wings!"

"No!" I shake my head "Stefan, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it's not how it sounds, I just wanted to help Damon, he's my friend!"

"Is that all he is?" Stefan questions me. "Because it seems like a hell of a lot more than that sometimes!" he runs a hand through his hair and lets out a frustrated breath. "I don't want you to see him anymore, Elena."

"What?" I scowl "You don't own me, Stefan!"

"No I don't but I'm protecting you!"

"Protecting me from what? Damon?" I question in disbelief "He's my friend!"

"I don't want you to be his friend! He likes you Elena, and I don't mean in a friendly way!" Stefan shouts at me angrily "Why can't you see that?!"

"You don't give him enough credit, Stefan. He's my friend, he's a good friend to me, I know the two of you don't see eye to eye but don't let that block your judgement on what is right in front of you! There is nothing going on between Damon and I, we're _just_ friends"

Stefan shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair looking a little distressed "He's bad news, Elena, how many times do I have to tell you this before you listen? Why can't you just stay away?"

"How can you say that about your own brother? He's a _good_ guy who has been through a lot!" I defend Damon immediately "I care about him. I know that isn't what you want to hear from me, but I do!" I snap angrily "I can't keep having this argument with you, Stefan," I take a deep breath and take a step back towards his bedroom door ready to leave "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I think it was Damon who killed Katherine!"

* * *

**So I think I'm just gonna leave it there... see you after the New Year! **

**haha just kidding! the next chapter is a big one! Hope you liked this one, thanks to those who reviewed it does mean a lot and they do inspire me to write more!**

**Until next time, which I promise will be way before New Year! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**Wow, over 100 reviews! Thanks so much guys! That's amazing! I thought I would update a day earlier as a way to thank you all! I hope you like this one...**

* * *

"I think it was Damon who killed Katherine!"

I freeze, my hand on the door frozen still as I let his words sink in. I slowly turn around and look at Stefan shocked and angry.

"_What_?!" I ask completely astonished that he'd sink this low "How can you say that? He's your _brother_, he's _Damon._"

"Exactly, he's _my_ brother. I know him better than you think, Elena. There are some things that you don't know about that night."

"What things?" My heart starts pounding a little as I try and think of what could have happened that night to make Stefan even _consider_ that Damon could kill his own girlfriend.

"The night of the shooting Damon found out that Katherine had loved Klaus all along and that she was just using Damon to get back at him."

What?

"No," I shake my head immediately; my hands start to shake as I think about this. Damon loved Katherine, he _loved_ her, how could she not love him back? It's Damon. "That doesn't mean Damon would shoot Katherine, Stefan! No matter what might have happened he still loved her."

"You want to know why Klaus is running free and not locked up in a prison cell?" he asks and that does make me wonder. No matter how powerful the Mikaelson family are in this town, not even they could cover up a murder. Damon once told me that the reason was there was no evidence, and the Mikaelson's had a really good lawyer. "His finger prints weren't on the weapon that killed Katherine, Elena." Stefan tells me.

"That doesn't mean anything," I frown "He could have easily wiped them off or was wearing gloves, there are plenty of explanations!"

"It was Damon's gun, Elena." he tells me seriously and my heart stops. No. That can't be right. "You want to know what I think happened that night? I think that Damon found out about Klaus and Katherine and he shot Katherine because that's what Damon does when he's hurt, he lashes out and _explodes_ in the worst way possible. I think he panicked and lashed out, I don't think he meant to kill her, but he did. I think Klaus then shot Damon, with his own gun, which was never found, I'm assuming Klaus still has it."

I'm shaking my head furiously as tears start to run down my cheeks "No, I don't believe you, Damon would never do that, he would never!"

"The Damon you know now isn't that same Damon last spring! The police report showed that Damon and Katherine were shot from two different types of guns, Elena! If Klaus killed them both, how can that be? Why didn't he just use the same gun?"

"Maybe it's a mistake," I try to think of anything that would prove Stefan wrong "Damon said that some evidence went missing, and that's why Klaus got away with it, maybe whatever that evidence was, was what proved it was Klaus."

Stefan laughs. He actually laughs.

"Evidence went missing alright." he agrees with me and I watch as he walks towards his closet and lifts up a floorboard that I didn't even know was there, he fishes out a box before unlocking it and holding out a sheet of paper to my face "I stole the evidence." he passes the sheet down to me and I gasp.

The murder weapon was a handgun that was registered to Giuseppe Salvatore.

"Believe it or not, Elena, I love my brother and I don't want him to go to jail, not now, not then, so I broke into the Sheriff's office the night they arrested Damon and stole some files, it made all the evidence contaminated and with the help of my father's lawyers and a little donation to the council, the case on Damon was dropped."

"No," I whisper looking down at the file in my shaking hands "There has to be an explanation."

"No, there isn't. The answer to all of this is right there in front of you." Stefan shakes his head and steps forward, placing both of his hands on either side of my face "You say my judgement is clouded? Don't let your feelings for my brother cloud _yours,_" I look at him in shock by what he says and Stefan smiles sadly "I'm not blind, Elena, I know you have feelings for Damon, it's kind of obvious."

I don't even bother to deny it. He's not the only one who has noticed how close Damon and I have gotten over the last couple of months.

"I'm not mad at you," Stefan continues "I just want to protect you, Elena, I love you." he trails his hand down past my shoulder and pulls me in for a hug.

I let more tears escape my eyes as I hug him back.

How can this be happening?

* * *

I walk into the house just in time to see my brother and Elena walking down the last remaining stairs hand in hand.

"Hey," I force a smile as I pull my eyes away from their linked hands and up to their faces and that's when I notice that Elena looks like she has been crying. I take giant steps towards them until I'm standing right in front of her and look at her worriedly "What's wrong? Are you ok?" I ask trying my hardest to not reach out and brush her dried tears away, I look up at Stefan who is glaring at me and I frown "What did you do to her?"

Stefan immediately goes to defend himself but I'm shocked when Elena cuts him off.

"I know you killed Katherine."

I freeze.

I turn my head back to Elena and she is looking at me angrily but I can see that she looks hurt too.

"What?" I whisper looking at her in shock and try to ignore the erratic beating of my heart.

"Katherine, you killed her," she says the sentence so coldly that I don't know what to do, what to say, how to react so I don't say anything "Stefan told me he stole the evidence for you!" she pushes a sheet of paper into my chest harshly and I look down at it confused.

I look down to see that it is a police report that confirms the murder weapon. A gun that is registered to Giuseppe Salvatore, the gun I stole the night before Katherine was killed and took with me that night.

Why did Stefan have it? It was _him_ who stole it? Why the hell did he not tell me?

"Say something, Damon!" Elena shouts at me furiously and I just look at her in complete shock, struggling how to process this information.

Katherine was shot with _my_ gun? What? That doesn't even make sense?

"God damn it Damon say something!" Elena is crying now and she pushes me away from her "I trusted you! How could you do that? I thought you loved her! She's a human being, Damon! You took away her life! You lied to me! You're a murderer" she whispers the last part, still probably in shock that those words are coming from her lips.

Well so am I.

I don't know what to say. I'm struggling to breathe. Why is this happening?

Elena just shakes her head and looks at me in absolute disgust and from that one look I think my heart has just shattered into a million pieces. No one has ever looked at me like that before and what's worse is that it is coming from _Elena_.

"Stay the hell away from me." she pushes past me and storms out of the house and Stefan glares at me before following her.

I'm left standing in shock as I clutch onto the sheet of paper in my hands tightly before falling to my knees.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

_**April 2012**_

This has all gone horribly wrong.

I look around to see that I'm alone, I don't even know where my boys are, I don't even know if they are alive. This has all just gotten out of hand.

We never intended to use guns. We just brought them to scare Klaus and his gang, to try and torture them a little with threats before laughing at their cowardly behavior and driving away leaving them to realize what fools they are in the darkness alone.

It didn't turn out that way.

When Tyler pulled out his Dad's gun out on Kol, I wasn't expecting Klaus to pull out one of his own and to actually fire at the ground in front of us. Before we know it we weren't just fighting for territory or for our prides, we were fighting for our lives.

The whole thing got out of hand and before I knew it there was blood and people getting hurt.

I saw Klaus run off into the darkness and I had to follow him, this was all his fault, he started this so I was going to finish it.

I watched him run through trees and I slowly snuck up behind him as he ran out into a clearing. I frowned however when I saw a recognizable car parked and Klaus ran towards it.

"What the hell is going on, Klaus! I can hear gunshots!" her voice is furious "Are you fucking crazy?!"

"Katherine?" I walk out into the clearing and watch as they both turn to look at me quickly, Klaus quickly raising his gun at me but Katherine ignores it and runs straight towards me.

"Damon!" she appears in front of me and runs her hands down my body like she is checking for injuries. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"No." I frown at her confused "What the hell are you doing out here, Katherine? It isn't safe!"

"Trevor told me what was happening, I was worried!" she looks genuinely scared and I lean forward and kiss her softly and run my fingers through her hair.

"It's ok, I'm ok." I tell her reassuringly.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Salvatore." I look behind Katherine to see Klaus walking towards me with his gun pointed at my head. I gulp slightly and step forward in front of Katherine, blocking her from Klaus's aim. "Put your gun down!" he shouts at me furiously and I frown when I notice his entire body shaking with rage as I drop my handgun onto the ground.

"Klaus, please!" Katherine pleads with him and I can hear the shakiness in her voice. "Don't do this."

"It's too late, Katherine." He says back to her with a sad smile before turning back to face me "You just wouldn't give up with you! You wouldn't back the fuck down until you ruined my life! My sister wasn't enough, so you had to take my girl too!" he waves his gun at me furiously and I gulp slightly.

"Klaus!" I hear Katherine's desperate voice behind me but I don't back down.

"You're not going to shoot me, Klaus." I take a brave step forward. "I didn't take anything from you!"

"You think I won't shoot you?" he asks with a laugh "Don't you know how much I _despise _your existence?"

"I'm aware." I reply calmly "The feeling is mutual," I answer with a shrug. "But you won't shoot me."

"Damon." I hear Katherine say my name in a warning tone but I ignore her and take another step forward.

"You know what your biggest weakness has always been, Salvatore." Klaus smirks at me and I raise my eyebrow.

"No but I'm sure you're about to tell me."

"You _always_ underestimate me."

I watch in slow motion as his finger moves to the trigger and he pulls. I hear Katherine's scream and before I know it I've landed backwards to the ground with a thud and everything goes black.

* * *

_**Present Time**_

Elena thinks I killed Katherine.

She _believes_ it was me, she _believes_ that I'm capable of murdering someone I _loved_, someone I cared about, someone who I _literally_ risked my life for to protect.

How can she think that?

Stefan doesn't surprise me, I know he was suspicious of my recollection of what happened that night because there were a lot of holes in my story and things didn't add up.

But Elena? I thought she _knew_ me, I thought she was the only person on this earth who believed in me and trusted me. How can she think that I'm a murderer?

Is that really how she sees me?

Has everything that's happened between us been one big lie? Was it just _caring_ Elena Gilbert pitying her boyfriend's _troubled_ brother!

I'm angry, I'm _furious_; I pull down posters in my room and punch my mirror before picking up and desk chair and launching it across the room.

If only she waited around for me to get my head around everything she was accusing me of to actually be able to tell her that it's a lie. That whatever my brother thought was the truth really isn't!

I continue to trash my bedroom, destroying anything and everything that lands in my path. It's a mess and I've broken almost everything that can be broken and I go to pick up a picture frame and throw it across my room but I stop myself.

It's a picture of my mother.

I'm _hurt_.

I fall to my knees and before I know it a sob escapes my lips. How can she do this to me? I thought she cared, I thought she was my _friend_.

All I can see is the disgust and hatred in her eyes as I eventually pull myself to my feet, I walk downstairs and stumble into my Dad's office, walking over to his cabinet and grabbing his most expensive bottle of bourbon. My eyes are clouded with tears and I grab a bottle of vodka too for good measure.

I leave the house, needing the fresh air, feeling like I still can't breathe but knowing I'm not going to have a panic attack.

Always look on the bright side, right?

"Damon?" A car is driving slowly beside me but I don't turn to see who it is. I can't process the familiar voice. I just keep walking "Damon?"

The engine stops and before I know it a body stops in front of me and places their hands on my shoulders. I look up and in front of my watered eyes it's Mr Saltzman looking down at me concerned and also a little scared.

"Damon what's wrong? Are you ok?" he looks down at the two bottles of alcohol in each of my hands and goes to reach down and take them from me but I step back and hold them away.

"_Move,_" I hiss at him coldly and I notice he's a little shocked by my tone. "Now."

"Damon what's happened? Talk to me!" he says firmly but I just shake my head and go to walk around him but he steps to the side and stands in my way.

"I mean it Ric!" I raise my voice but he doesn't back down.

"Come with me, I'll take you home." he offers trying to keep his voice calm but I can sense that he doesn't really know what to do.

"No." I snap at him and push him backwards, he stumbles on something and falls to the floor and I quickly break into a run, knowing that if I don't get away from him now he will find a way to get me in his car and take me back to that house and I can't be there right now.

I run through people's backyards and take some short cuts where I know cars can't access so I know for sure that I've lost Alaric.

I reach my destination eventually, a lot longer than planned but I get there. I'm clutching both bottles tightly as I stumble through the graveyard and before I know it I'm stood at the one gravestone I'd vowed never to visit again.

I laugh a little as I look down at her grave, a few fresh flowers placed because of what day it is but not enough there to show her popularity.

People just don't care anymore.

"Happy birthday Katherine," I fall to my knees and unscrew the bottle of bourbon and take a massive gulp, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and smirk "Bet you never thought you'd see me here again".

I take another chug, more than before this time and cough a little as it burns my throat.

"So apparently I killed you," I take another swig "Interesting theory, factual evidence backs it up I guess. I mean, there is more supposed _evidence_ against _me_ than _Klaus_!" I let out a bitter chuckle "Can you believe that?!" I take two more swigs and shake my head "No me neither."

I continue to stare at her stone and fall into a silence as I take more swigs from the whiskey that Giuseppe will no doubt kill me for stealing. He only keeps the really good expensive stuff in his office!

"What is it about me, Katherine, that makes girls continuously screw me over," I down the rest of the bottle when I think about Elena's words to stay away from her and the disgust and hatred in her eyes when she said it. I throw the now empty bottle, swaying a little unsteadily on my knees at my own movement, and watch as the glass smashes and as the small remaining liquid runs down the stone, over her name. "I promised myself all those months ago that I would never trust a woman again, that I would never let my guard down!" I open the cap of the bottle of vodka and take a sip, cringing at the taste. "Well you were right about one thing Katherine, I am a _fool_! A big stupid fool!" I laugh a little at myself, the amount of alcohol I've just consumed starting to take major affect "I let myself believe that Elena was different, you know Elena, right? Brother's girl and all, yeah, ironic, isn't it? Yet another girl who _loves_ someone else! At least I knew about this one, you'd think I would have learnt my lesson? Apparently not!" I continue to ramble, just talking, the ground is spinning and I change my seating position so I'm sat on my bottom in a much steadier position.

"She thinks I killed you," I whisper with a frown, the words really starting to sink in. "She doesn't even know that I sat and watched you die and she still thinks I am responsible for your death." I look down at my vodka bottle and take another gulp. "I thought she was my friend, I thought she knew me." I laugh a little at the thought.

"Serves me right," I shake my head with a smile "I've learnt my lesson now."

I fall silent again and continue to drink from the bottle, the affects continuing to take its toll on me but I don't stop.

I don't want to stop.

"Why did you have to die?" I realize I'm crying but it's like I'm having an out of body experience and I feel like I'm no longer in control of my own body. "I don't even care anymore that you loved Klaus and not me, but why did you have to die? If you didn't die…Elena wouldn't think that I killed you and she'd still be my friend, she'd still deem me worthy of her time!" I'm getting angry now but I still can't connect to any of my actions or the words that are leaving my mouth as I do and say them.

I'm way too drunk.

"This is all your fault Katherine! Why do you continue to _ruin my life_ even when you're dead! WHY?!" I try and pull myself to my feet but I can't find my balance and I tumble straight forward, my head face planting the soil and squashing some of the flowers by her grave. I groan and lift myself up a little to a sitting position again.

"She'll never be mine now," I whisper as I feel more tears fall down my cheeks "And it has nothing to do with my brother. She hates me."

I take more of the vodka and splutter slightly as my body tries to reject it, knowing I've had more than enough but I force myself to swallow.

"It's funny, because _you_ used and manipulated _me_ and now Elena believes that I did the exact same to her! The one thing in my life that was actually _real_ has now been turned into a lie!" I laugh at the irony and cough some more, my stomach swirling, making me want to throw up but I just chug down some more vodka instead.

My focus has gone completely now. I can't see anything, it feels like the entire earth is spinning and my eyes struggle to stay open.

Then everything goes black and I feel relieved.

* * *

My phone rings as I step out of my car and walk towards my porch, Stefan following closely behind me.

It's Alaric.

"Hi Ric." I answer with a sigh, feeling drained from this entire day and trying to push all thoughts of my boyfriend's brother out of my mind.

I can deal with that tomorrow. I'm too tired to think about what he has done anymore today.

"Elena! Where are you?" his voice sounds panicked and it worries me as I hurry towards the house.

"I'm just about to walk through the door at home, why?" I ask worried and look at Stefan who sends me a confused glance. I unlock the door and open it just in time to see Alaric hang up his cell and turn to face me, Jenna standing nervously beside him. "What's wrong? Is everything ok?"

"Have you seen Damon?" Alaric walks towards us glancing between Stefan and I.

I immediately frown "Unfortunately yes." I mutter coldly and I watch as Alaric looks confused waiting for me to explain and I sigh not in the mood and thankfully Stefan speaks for me.

"We had a …disagreement" he tries to explain and I scoff loudly at the word. Disagreement? He fucking killed someone.

"When was this?" Ric asks worriedly and I frown.

"A couple of hours ago, why?" Stefan looks a little concerned and takes a step forward "Mr Saltzman?"

"I just saw him not too long ago, a couple of hour's maybe; he looked in a bad way"

"Good." I snap and Alaric turns his head to me in shock "What? If you _knew_ what he had done, you wouldn't be so concerned about your favorite student Ric!"

"What kind of bad way?" Stefan pushes for an answer and ignores what I've just said.

"He looked upset and he had bottles of alcohol on him, I tried to take them from him but he wouldn't let me and he ran away from me before I could stop him," he explains worriedly "It didn't look good, Stefan, I think you should call your father."

Stefan nods his head and pulls out his cellphone before leaving the room and now Jenna speaks up.

"What happened, Elena?" she asks worriedly.

I shake my head, trying to stop the tears from entering my eyes. I will not cry over this again.

"Elena," Alaric speaks again and steps in front of me "Whatever has happened, whatever Damon has done, can you please just push it to one side until we find him, there's some things about him that you don't know and I'm _worried_ that he'll try and do something stupid."

"What do you mean?" I realize my voice is shaky and my heart starts to pound.

"He wanted to kill himself, Elena," Alaric tells me softly "That's why he came back to Mystic Falls, so Giuseppe could keep an eye on him, to stop him from trying anything stupid."

"No," I shake my head "Damon wouldn't, he isn't like that."

"It's true, Elena." I turn around and watch as Stefan walks back into the room, his face full of worry. "Not many people know about it, but it's true. His plan all along was to find Klaus, get his revenge and then to end his own life."

That doesn't make sense. Why would he need revenge on Klaus when it was Damon who killed Katherine?

"That doesn't make sense, Stefan!" I argue "You _know_ that doesn't make sense!"

"He told me himself that's what he wanted to do," Stefan tells me seriously "But I'm sure he's fine, he's just…upset, after what happened today." he looks at me warily "Let him recover, have some time alone to think things through."

"Think things through?!" I ask him astonished "He didn't forget to take out the garbage Stefan, he ki-"

"Elena!" Stefan snaps at me angrily, cutting me off before I could say anything else. I know he wants me to keep what he told me to myself, despite everything he loves Damon and he doesn't want him to go to prison.

"Ok, what the hell is going on here?" Alaric asks confused and also a little annoyed "Someone better tell me!"

"It's nothing!" Stefan mutters annoyed before walking towards the door "Now excuse me, I've got to go find my brother." he slams the door behind him and I try to hold in a cry.

When I woke up this morning this is not what I thought my day would turn into.

* * *

It's weird because an hour later when Stefan called me it was like I expected to hear something bad. So when the jumbled words of 'Damon' 'Unconscious' 'Stomach pumped' 'Hospital' were all thrown together in the same sentence I was already out of the door before he could even finish.

The car ride to the hospital was a blur, Alaric drove me and I shot out of the door before he could even park. I ran into the emergency room to see Stefan sitting with his head in his hands.

This is bad. So bad.

"Stefan?" My voice is shaky and unfamiliar and he looks up at me with red eyes before slowly standing up. I run towards him and stop just at arm's length and look around frantically. "Is he ok? What happened?"

Stefan's eyes travel behind me for a brief second where Alaric comes and stands with us before answering "I don't know Elena," he runs his hand through his already messy hair "I went looking for him, and eventually found him passed out by Katherine's grave, there was empty bottles of whiskey and vodka and he was barely breathing and…I didn't know what to do…I called an ambulance…I should have done more…I don't even know if he's ok." I notice that he is panicking and I quickly wrap my arms around him in a hug.

"It's ok," I whisper into his ear "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is," Stefan pulls back at me before glancing at Alaric cautiously. I think Ric takes the hint and goes and walks over to the reception desk, probably to see if he can try and find out what is going on. "If I hadn't told you about Katherine…" he trails guiltily and I shake my head.

"No, don't say that! You said yourself something like this has happened before. Don't worry, Damon is strong, he will be ok!"

If only I believed the words myself.

I feel sick, physically sick and also a little guilty. The look on Damon's face when I told him that I knew he killed Katherine broke my heart, despite how angry and disgusted I felt with him, that flash of pure hurt that crossed his face is something I don't think I will ever forget.

He _needs_ to be ok.

We're sat in the waiting room for at least another hour before Giuseppe comes to speak to us after being in with Damon.

"How is he? Is he ok?" I jump to my feet immediately and Giuseppe frowns at me slightly before turning to look at Stefan.

"What is this?" he asks coldly motioning to Alaric and me as if neither of us are even here.

"What?" Stefan looks confused but I think I know where this is going.

"This is a private _family_ matter, Stefan! Not something that you were obligated to share with half of the damn town!" Giuseppe is angry and from the look on Stefan's face I don't think this kind of anger has ever been directed towards him before from his father.

"I…I'm sorry", Stefan stutters "I thought they should know….they were worried about him…I I didn't know what to do."

"Mr Salvatore," Alaric jumps in cautiously "Both Elena and I understand that this is a family matter but we both just want to know if Damon is ok, we care about him. I can assure you that everything that has happened today will stay between us."

I watch as Giuseppe contemplates Alaric's words thoughtfully before letting out a loud sigh and finally answering my original question "Damon is fine," he almost seems annoyed by this, like it is all just a waste of his valuable time "The stupid boy just can't seem to handle his alcohol."

His oldest son just nearly _died_ from drowning himself in alcohol and all he has to say is that he couldn't handle his drink?!

I'm fuming.

"_What_?!" I hiss at him furiously "Are you serious?"

"Elena," Alaric presses both his hands on either side of my shoulders in a warning to stop "All that matters is that Damon is ok." he tells him firmly but reassuringly and I take a deep breath before nodding and keeping my mouth closed. "Can we see him?" Ric directs his question to Giuseppe who does not look happy with me.

"I don't see why not, I should warn you though that it's not a pretty sight."

I don't wait for him to say anything else and, Alaric, Stefan and I walk towards Damon's hospital room. When we finally reach it Stefan walks straight inside and Alaric goes to follow but I immediately come to a halt.

"Elena?" Alaric turns to face me with a frown "What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't be here." I say quietly thinking about everything that has happened today, everything that I've learned about Damon Salvatore and everything that he has done to himself afterwards.

"Elena," Alaric sighs and walks towards me "Damon needs you right now, you're one of the only friends he has. I know that something bad has happened between you but I'm sure you can put this aside for one night."

He's right. I nod my head and follow Alaric into the room.

The first thing that comes into my head is that the room absolutely stinks of vomit. The second is Damon's pale face as he looks down at his hands. His eyes are red and bloodshot and his hair is a mess.

I've never seen him look so vulnerable and broken.

Stefan is talking to him, but I don't think Damon is listening. He is just staring down at his hands not even acknowledging that anyone is here.

That I'm here.

"You scared us Salvatore! What were you doing huh? Having a drinking competition with yourself? I think you lost buddy." Alaric attempts to joke to get a reaction out of him but Damon doesn't react and it makes me feel even more nervous than before.

I watch as Alaric sends a nervous concerned glance at Stefan who runs his hands through his hair. "Damon," Stefan speaks louder "Come on man, you have visitors."

Damon finally lifts his head up and only looks at Stefan "I want to be left alone." his voice is croaky and quiet but I hear him.

He doesn't even look at me.

"Damon." I go to speak but no other words come out of my mouth. It's like I have forgotten how to talk.

He looks so broken.

A voice inside of me tries to tell me that this is still the same guy who killed Katherine, who shot a girl just because she didn't love him. But I can't think about that. All I can think about is that Damon is hurt and I want to help him.

"Please Damon," I speak again trying to get him to look my way and when he doesn't I cross the room and stand by his bed so he doesn't have a choice "Don't shut us out."

Damon eventually turns to look at me and I'm shocked to see the light in his eyes completely gone and he looks at me so icily and full of anger and hatred that I actually take a step back in shock.

"Leave me the hell alone, Elena." he hisses at me coldly.

"Damon." Alaric warns with a cautious but firm voice.

"Maybe we should leave." Stefan suggests awkwardly but I refuse to back down. Remembering words that Ric spoke to me months ago when Damon and I were just starting to become friends.

_"Just be patient with him but don't stop trying, I've noticed from past experience that if you give Damon Salvatore space, he'll think you don't care. Best thing is to push him and keep pushing, he may explode on you but that's what you want if you want to get through to him and be his friend, Elena, but that's up to you, he's a lot of work, it just depends if you think he is worth it"_

Well my answer right now is the same as it was back then.

He is worth it.

We can deal with the Katherine stuff later, but first I need to know that he is safe and ok before I can go back to hating what he has done.

"No," I shake my head and look at Damon determinedly "It's not going to work, Damon! So don't bother trying. I'm your friend, let me help you!"

"You're no friend of mine!" Damon raises his voice slightly but his voice breaks towards the end and he starts coughing. I go to help him but he literally smacks my hand away "No!" he roars, his eyes fuming and it makes me feel sick. "I'm serious, Elena! I don't want to see you, or talk to you! Just stay the hell away from me!"

"How can you say that?" I argue.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me?!" Damon sits himself further up on his bed and leans forward to face me, his blue eyes looking so cold "Not even five hours ago you accused me of killing Katherine!"

Silence.

I don't know what to say to that because it's true. I did. But it's true. Or at least I think it is. I believed it at the time. But honestly, by the look on his face right now I don't know what to think anymore.

"What?" Alaric steps in confused and I watch the panic cross Stefan's face as he speaks up.

"Look, everyone is upset and tired, it's been a long day, maybe we should just listen to Damon and go home and give him some space?" he tries to push us all to the door but no one is budging.

"You think he killed Katherine?" Alaric asks me in shock, almost as if I'm being ridiculous for even thinking it. "Elena." the way he says my name immediately makes me feel guilty.

I look at Stefan panicked slightly then back at Damon who still looks very very angry. But also hurt.

He's trying to hide it. But he is hurt. I can see it. I think he sometimes forgets how much I know him.

Or at least I thought I knew him. I don't even know anymore.

"If you really believe that I did it then why haven't you called the cops?" Damon continues, his voice calm and emotionless now, almost like he's just given up.

Maybe he has.

"Here, baby bro, pass me your phone and I'll do it myself," he motions at Stefan but my boyfriend just stands still. "No?" he looks at him before turning back at me "Elena? Would _you_ like to do the honors?"

"Damon don't." I shake my head and try to stop the tears from entering my eyes.

"Well what about you Mr Saltzman?" he turns to Alaric "You know how to dial 911, right?"

"Don't be stupid Salvatore," Alaric fires straight back "I know you didn't kill anyone."

Damon laughs. He actually laughs.

"I let her die," he says with a bitter smile on his face "She was in my arms…and she needed help and I just sat and watched her die."

My heart starts pounding and I wonder if this is it, his confession. It doesn't seem real. And deep down inside of me I still don't believe it, don't believe that Damon is really capable of murder, despite the evidence suggesting that to be the case.

I don't know. I'm so confused and my thoughts are flying all over the place.

I'm shocked next though when I notice tears fall from Damon's eyes and down his face and it's like he doesn't even notice "She begged me to help and I did _nothing_. She couldn't move." it was like he wasn't even in the room anymore and I realized he was back in that night. Back to where this all started for him but ended for a woman who he loved.

His blue eyes are so distant and lost, it scares me a little.

"She pleaded with me to save her," he continues, his voice quiet but I can still hear every word clearly "She knew she was dying and she told me she was sorry. I was frozen, it was like my _entire_ body was stuck and I couldn't do anything. I don't know how long I sat there for, it could have been seconds, maybe minutes, and it could have even been hours. I don't know, but I soon noticed that she stopped crying and that her body was _too_ still. It was like suddenly I could move again and my own injuries didn't even matter anymore, all that mattered was Katherine. I held her in my arms and I _begged_ her to wake up, I told her how much I loved her and that she just needed to wake up but she never did." he whispers and it's then that I realize that I'm silently crying.

I know now that Damon didn't kill Katherine. Not this boy, not my Damon.

"I thought I was going to die and I didn't even care. I wanted to die; I wanted to die with Katherine." I gulp slightly at his words and struggle to hold in a sob as he lifts his head back up to face me, eventually he was back in the room with us.

"Maybe I did kill her Elena," he says emotionless to me "Maybe if I had done something more to help her she would still be here. But I didn't pull the trigger of that gun. I didn't even know how she felt about Klaus until _after_ she was shot. I was unconscious through it all, I didn't see who shot Katherine but I know it wasn't me." he is looking at me dead in the eye and I hate myself.

How could I have been so stupid?

"Now please," he looks away from me and back down at his hands "Can you all just leave?"

And we do.

* * *

**There it is, the big one! **

**As you can probably tell by the way I write him, I'm not Stefan's number one fan! But can I just say one thing in defense of him in this story, when he told Elena that he thought it was Damon who killed Katherine, it was what he genuinely believed to be true, he didn't tell her to cause trouble or to make her hate him, he told her because as much as their relationship isn't working anymore, he still cares for her and doesn't want her to get hurt, and he stupidly thinks that Damon will hurt her. **

**He stole evidence, because despite their troubled relationship, he didn't want his brother to go to jail and he thought he would because he thought he shot Katherine.**

**I just wanted to say that, because I know that he's not a great character in this story, and I write him as a bit of a douche because in this story that is what he is! He's different to Damon, he has had everything handed to him on a plate and has basically the perfect teenage life. He is a selfish character, and he doesn't see things like Damon does, for example he thinks Giuseppe is the perfect Father, because all Stefan sees is his behavior towards him, not towards Damon or anyone else even if it happens right in front of him.**

**So yeah, as much as he is to blame for the drama in this chapter and he is a douche, but this time it wasn't on purpose! **

**PS, I feel so weird for writing that massive explanation defending a character I don't even like!**

**If you've made it this far down, thank you for reading and I can't wait to see your thoughts on this chapter! Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter :) **

**Until next time! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

I think it's safe to say that this year I had one of the most miserable Christmas's I've had since the one after my parents died. I've never felt so guilty about something in my entire life. Every time I close my eyes all I can see is the hurt look on Damon's face when I accused him of killing Katherine. He looked so heartbroken and it was my fault.

Sometimes all I can see is the lost emotion version of him in the hospital and I really don't know which is worse, they are both bad and they both make me feel physically sick.

I tried to talk to him every day. I went back to the hospital the day after he told us what happened the night Katherine was killed and then kicked us out, but the receptionist informed me that Damon had requested not to have any visitors.

I went round to the Salvatore Boarding House when I heard he got discharged and was out of hospital but he didn't want to see me.

I called him at least twice a day and text a dozen but I never got any kind of answer.

I knew I deserved his silent treatment, as much as it hurts me and hurts my heart, I understand why he didn't want to talk to me.

How could I have been so stupid?

One week after the incident I ended my relationship with Stefan, I knew that I no longer loved him and it said something that I was more heartbroken about Damon ignoring me than my breakup with my long-time boyfriend.

It was upsetting, because Stefan insisted that he would work harder for our relationship and that he loved me but I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't pretend to be with him when I wasn't really _with_ him and I realized that I hadn't been for a long time now.

It was awkward because we share the same friends, and during lunch time at school, he barely even looked at me. It wasn't until the last day of our first semester when he finally spoke to me again, informing me that he was going to spend his winter break with his grandparents in Chicago and when he got back in the New Year he hopes we can try and be friends again, something which I was very grateful for.

Damon never came back to school, and I didn't dare ask Stefan where he was once we broke up because I knew deep down he knew that one of the main reasons why I ended things with him was because of my feelings for his older brother and after everything that happened I didn't want to rock the boat any more than it already was.

It doesn't mean I didn't try.

It was Tyler Lockwood who informed me that Damon had already gone to Chicago and wouldn't be coming back until the new semester started in January, which left me at a loss because how was I supposed to show Damon how sorry I was if he wasn't even here?

So I spent my entire winter break pretty much heartbroken, living each day feeling guilty because I had hurt Damon when I was so sure I never would. People kept on telling me that I should stay away from Damon Salvatore because he would hurt me, but never for one second did they ever think that I would be the one to hurt _him_.

My Aunt Jenna made numerous attempts to try and cheer me up over the holidays but it never worked, even Jeremy made some attempts but none of it was successful. The only thing that will make me feel better is Damon coming back to Mystic Falls and forgiving me.

Fat chance of that happening.

I wake up on the first day of our new semester feeling nervous, anxious but determined. I knew that I would probably see Damon today. I had to harass a reluctant Tyler to eventually tell me that Damon was indeed back in town and would be coming back to school.

I made sure to take extra care on my make-up and eventually picked out the perfect outfit before I was satisfied to leave the house.

I need to speak to Damon. I need him to forgive me.

These past few weeks without him, without seeing his cocky smirk and his beautiful icy blue eyes or hearing his deep chuckle and his velvet voice made me come to a startling discovery as I was brought into the New Year at a party Bonnie and Caroline pretty much dragged me too and watched as different couples around me embraced and kissed, seeing the New Year in together.

I love him.

I'm in love with Damon Salvatore.

* * *

"Damon, come on! We're going to be late!"

"Alright Stef, calm down I'm coming." I mutter as I hurry down the stairs and swing my bag over my shoulder and look at my brother annoyed. "What's the hurry? We never do anything on the first day back of school anyway!"

"I have a perfect punctuality record that I intend to keep." He tells me firmly and I roll my eyes.

"Ok then. How about you go run along to school and I'll see you there?" I send him a fake smile but he doesn't buy it.

"Nice try, but you know that Dad told me to drive you. You can't skip the first day back, Damon."

"Why not? It's nothing I haven't done before!" I mutter with a huff as I follow Stefan outside and towards his car.

"You're nervous." He turns his head to face me as we sit in his car and I immediately scoff.

"No."

"Yes you are." He pushes me "You're nervous because this is the first time you'll see Elena since-" he stops himself and I see him cringe slightly from the corner of my eye.

"Since what?" I urge him to continue "Since that time the two of you accused me of murdering my girlfriend?"

"Damon." Stefan sighs. "You know I'm sorry about that, and so is Elena."

"Frankly baby bro, I don't really care about your feelings or your girlfriend's. You both can think what you like; I bet you guys have a blast making up different conspiracy theories about me."

"Ok, one; you know Elena and I broke up. Two; you know that we don't think that anymore. And three; I know that you do care, or at least you care about Elena's feelings."

"Wrong." I reply quickly "I don't care. Elena means nothing to me, and as soon as I finish this semester and my probation finishes I am getting the hell out of this town and I'm going to continue what I originally set out to do. Find Klaus, and kill him."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Stefan mutters and I roll my eyes. He's such a goody two shoes that boy.

"Pretend what you like," I shrug as I open the car door as he parks at the high school. "I really don't care." I slam my door shut and pull my hood over my head as I walk quickly away from my brother's car and towards the school, knowing that Stefan is probably having a fit behind me because we are a good ten minutes lat.

The sooner this day is over the better.

* * *

I waited until the second bell rang by Damon's locker and there was still no sign of him. I started to feel nervous and I was even tempted to go and track down Tyler to ask him where he was but I knew that I couldn't miss my first class.

I quickly rush through the halls, knowing that I share this class with both Damon and Stefan, so hopefully he will already be there and I can try and find a way to get him to talk to me.

I waltz through the door and go to apologize to Mr Stevenson for being late but I come to a halt when I realize that it's not my usual teacher standing there. Instead there is a petite dark haired woman who turns her head to face me and her eyes widen slightly but I'm not sure why.

"Sorry I'm late." I mumble awkwardly as I go and take an empty seat at the front next to Bonnie who sends me a smile. I sit down before looking around the class and notice that neither Damon nor Stefan are here.

Weird.

Damon I understand skipping class, he always does it, even when he isn't trying to avoid me. But Stefan?

What if they are still in Chicago? My heart starts to pound in my chest when I realize that maybe they aren't coming back. Then what would I do? Damon would never know how sorry I am.

"Ok." The teacher speaks up a little and eyes me for a second before drawing her attention back to the entire class. "My name is Isobel Flemming, but since I'm your teacher you're going to have to call me Miss Flemming unfortunately, and I'm your new Science teacher, so yes, that means you will be taught by for all three subjects, Biology, Physics and Chemistry."

She continues to introduce herself but my thoughts drift off as I turn my head to the side to see Damon's usual seat empty. I frown before turning back to the front, realizing that my new teacher's eyes were on me before quickly darting away as I catch them and I frown a little, thinking it's weird but think nothing else from it.

I look over at the clock and see that it is past 10 past now and that Stefan at least should be here by now.

Almost as if by magic the door swings open with a bang and my heart stops when Damon strolls casually in without a word, his hood from his sweatshirt over his head and takes his usual seat, I turn my head around to face him, pleading with him to look at me but he doesn't.

"Um excuse me!" our new teacher does not sound impressed by his entrance and another voice brings my attention back to the front of the class.

"I'm so sorry we're late." Stefan hurries in, his voice calm and apologetic. "I'm Stefan Salvatore and that is my brother Damon. You must be Miss Flemming, we've just had to speak to the Principle, that's why we're late." He explains and I hear Damon scoff loudly causing me to turn back around to face him and I freeze when I catch his eye for a split second before he turns away again.

I sigh disappointed before looking down at my desk, noticing from the corner of my eye that Stefan sits at the empty chair next to me but I choose not to greet him just yet.

"That's ok, Stefan." Miss Flemming smiles at him before sending a small glare in Damon's direction "Unfortunately your brother doesn't seem to have the same kind of manners as you." She says and I just know that Damon is probably rolling his eyes.

"How was your winter break, Salvatore?" Kol shouts from the back of the class and I turn around to glare and see that Damon doesn't even turn to give him the time of day. "Mine was perfect, we spent Christmas here in Mystic Falls with our _entire_ family, the whole gang were back, Finn, Elijah…Klaus. Shame you weren't in town to see it, I'm sure you and my brother would have had a _lot_ to catch up on!" he smirks and I watch as Damon leaps from his chair and crosses the classroom before I can even blink and has Kol pinned against the wall.

"Hey!" Our new teacher rushes over and tries to pull Damon off of Kol but his grasp only tightens. I notice Stefan stand beside me and walk over quickly and I can't help but raise to my feet either as my heart starts pounding as I watch the scene unfold before me.

"What did you say?!" Damon hisses at Kol who is still smirking despite Damon holding him in what looks like a very painful grasp.

"You heard me." Kol sneers back.

"Damon!" I try and get his attention but he ignores me. The last thing I want is for him to get in trouble again.

"This is enough!" Miss Flemming tries her best to stop the situation from escalating but I can tell that she is out of her depth.

"Damon, let him go!" Stefan pulls on his brother's arm and Damon finally lets go and swings around pushing Stefan away from him, the younger Salvatore stumbling back into our poor new teacher who hasn't a clue how to handle this situation.

"Get off me!" his eyes are full of rage and for a second it scares me. I've never seen Damon look so angry before and he turns back to face Kol. "Klaus was here? Where is he now? Take me to him!" he pins a laughing Kol back against the wall, his hands now wrapped around his neck, choking him.

"Damon don't do this!" I plead with him and step forward, placing my hand on his arm. "Please!"

He turns his head to face me and I gasp a little and take a step back when I see not even a shadow of the Damon I once knew. He looks almost like a stranger.

"Don't touch me, Elena." He warns me, his voice cold and angry and I gulp before removing my hand and taking a step back in shock. He's never looked at me like this before, not even that time in the hospital and my eyes start to sting with tears because I realize it is because he hates me.

Damon hates me.

Everything happens so fast, but before I know it Alaric is in the room and has pulled Damon away from Kol and out of the classroom. Kol coughs and rubs his throat as he leans against the wall and I turn to face him with a glare.

"You're such a bastard!"

"What?" Kol grins back at me in mock innocence "I thought he might have been interested in what I did over the holidays!"

"Ok this is enough!" Miss Flemming interrupts us, still looking a little flustered and shocked by what has just happened. "Sit down, all of you!"

I send Kol one last glare before walking back over to the front of the class and taking my seat, Stefan following behind me.

"What the hell was that about, Elena?" Bonnie whispers at me flabbergasted.

I ignore her and put my head in my hands, because all I can think about is the look in Damon's eyes when he addressed me for the first time.

He hates me.

* * *

"Get the hell in here!" Alaric literally pushes me into an empty classroom and slams the door behind him, turning to face me with a furious expression on his face. "What the hell was that, Damon?! What is wrong with you?! It's your first day back and you've already done something that could get you expelled! What were you thinking?!"

"What was I thinking?!" I argue back in disbelief. "Klaus was back! _Klaus_ was _back_ here, in Mystic Falls and I'm only finding out about this now! I missed my chance, don't you get it! I had _one_ chance and I missed it! I wasn't even in this god damn fucking state!" I kick a chair and watch as it goes crashing against the floor loudly.

I'm furious. My heart is pounding hard against my chest and I am shaking in pure rage. I can't believe that Klaus was back in Mystic Falls and I wasn't even here!

"You need to calm down." Alaric warns me and takes a step forward "You can't be here when you're like this, Damon!"

"I don't want to fucking be here!" I shout back furiously "I _hate_ this school, I _hate_ this town, and I _hate_ these people!"

"You're hurt, I get it! But you can't go around lashing out like that! Especially at school! In front of teachers who wouldn't give a second thought to getting you expelled!"

"I'm not _hurt_!" I argue back, sick of everyone telling me how I feel. "I'm angry! I'm pissed off! I'm furious! You don't get it, Ric! Klaus was _here_! I could have _had _him! He ruined my fucking life! That was my chance!"

"And then what, huh?" Mr Saltzman challenges me and raises his voice as he takes a step closer. "What would you have done? Killed him?" he asks the question and when I stay silent, the only sound around us is my heavy breathing, and Alaric shakes his head in disbelief. "Is he really worth it? You'd spend the rest of your life in a prison cell, maybe even worse."

"The worse is what I'm hoping for." The words leave my mouth before I even realize and I watch as Alaric freezes, his eyes widening for a second before a frown settles on his face.

"You don't mean that."

"Do I not?" I step forward so we are almost toe to toe. "I spent months running around America looking for him, you don't think the consequences of what I would do when I found him never crossed my mind?"

"I don't doubt that." He nods his head "But that was then, things are different now."

"How the hell are things different?" I question in disbelief.

"Because _you're_ different, Damon! You've become a better man, whether you like it or not! You're hurting right now because of what happened with Stefan and Elena, I get–"

"No!" I immediately cut him off "Don't bring that up! That has nothing to do with this!"

"Does it not? Because before they hurt you, you were thinking about college, Damon! You were thinking about a _future_! Don't you understand? That is still an option for you! You _have_ a future, do not screw it up for someone as worthless as Klaus Mikaelson!"

I stay silent as his words sink in but I can't let myself understand them. I don't want to feel. I don't want to feel hurt. I don't want to think about the look of disgust on Elena's face when she thought I had killed Katherine. How she thought I was capable of murder.

Because I am.

"Can I go now?" I cross my arms against my chest and Alaric sighs, knowing that he hasn't been able to get through to me.

"Fine." He steps aside and I go to leave but he speaks again causing me to stop. "You can't be angry forever, Damon. It'll eat you up, in fact, it already is tearing you apart, ruining all the hard work you've put in over the last few months. Look at you, you're trying _so_ hard not to feel, not to let anyone see the real you and you're pushing people away! Well it's working, you're father has already given up on you, Stefan isn't far behind, and if you keep going the way you're going, I'm not going to be able to help you either, there's only so much I can do to help you Damon before you help yourself." I scowl at his words and open the door but he continues. "Even Elena will give up eventually, unless you stop this, Damon, unless you find it in your heart to learn how to forgive people, how to forgive _yourself_."

I stand still for a second; thinking of what my life would be like if Elena was permanently not a part of it.

I don't want to go there.

I make sure to slam the door hard and loud behind me.

* * *

The bell rings signalling the end of this very _interesting_ first class of the day and I sigh while closing my books. This has not gone to plan so far.

"Elena." I look up to see Stefan standing nervously beside me, Bonnie giving me a supportive look before walking out of the classroom.

"Stefan?" I reply while standing up from my chair.

"Can we talk?" he asks, his voice soft and nervous and I feel bad for him, because all I can think about is his brother.

"Now?"

"Whenever you want." He offers with a shrug and I look down to my feet awkwardly. "I just want to talk to you, Elena," He sighs when he notices my reluctance and I look up at him feeling guilty. "But if you don't want to, then that's fine I guess."

"No Stefan," I sigh "It's not that I just…" I trail off not sure what to say.

"Stefan."

We both turn our heads to see Miss Flemming walk towards us and for a moment I forgot we were still in the classroom.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She looks between us curiously for a moment and I realise that we must look pretty tense right now.

"Is this about Damon?" I question her and take a step forward "Please don't tell the principle about what happened, he could get suspended, maybe even expelled and he doesn't deserve that." I almost plead with her and I watch as her brown eyes hold my gaze for a moment before she coughs a little awkwardly and puts back on a professional stance.

"He just attacked another student in my class, Elena, which is something _I_ would get into trouble for if I don't talk to the principle about it."

"I know that, and he was wrong but you don't know the full story." I try and defend Damon as best as I can but it's hard to when she doesn't see the real him, just like everyone else in this stupid town.

"Please," Stefan joins in "I promise that I will talk to him, get him to calm down and he won't do anything like that again."

"Fine." She gives in a little but holds out her hand when she notices the wide smile that crosses my face "But only if he apologies to me by the end of the day." She tells me firmly and my smile falls because I know that this is unlikely to happen.

I sigh and nod my head in thanks before leaving the classroom, Stefan following as we walk out into the hallway.

"You know he won't apologize, Elena." Stefan tells me with a sigh.

"I'll speak to him." I try and sound confident, because I know that the last thing Damon probably wants to do right now is talk to me.

"He's not himself right now, Elena." He tells me seriously and I frown and come to a stop, Stefan standing in front of me. "We really hurt him when we accused him of shooting Katherine."

"I know." I mumble guiltily "I just wish that he would let me show him how sorry I am."

"I'm sure with time he'll calm down, but right now he is pretty much a loose cannon, he's gone back to the old Damon but only this time he is worse because he believes he has nothing to lose."

I frown at his words, the guilt eating me up inside because I know this is all my fault.

"Maybe you should just give him space, let me deal with him." He continues and this time I scowl.

"I won't give up on him, Stefan!" I glare at him angrily.

"I didn't mean that!" he immediately defends himself. "You don't understand what he can be like! I've experienced something like this in the past with him; he's impulsive and crazy right now! It's best if you keep your distance until he calms down."

"I'm sorry that I don't trust your judgement on this after the last time you told me to stay away from him!" I glare at him, knowing that I shouldn't blame what happened entirely on Stefan, yes he was the one who told me about Damon shooting Katherine, but I didn't _have_ to believe him.

The bell rings interrupting our discussion, argument, whatever the hell it is, and I turn around and walk towards my next class, not even bothering to say anything else.

* * *

"Damon." I sigh in annoyance and turn around to see Stefan jogging towards me at lunch time.

"What do you want?" I don't bother hiding my annoyance; he is one of the main people I've been hoping to avoid for the rest of the day.

"Don't worry I'm gonna make this quick," he begins while glaring at me "You need to go and apologize to Miss Flemming."

"To who?"

"Our new science teacher, you know, the one who's class you attacked Kol in." he scowls at me.

"Nah." I shake my head and go to walk away but Stefan reaches out and grabs my arm pulling my back. I look down at Stefan's grip on my arm with a glare before lifting my eyes to my brothers who nervously removes his hand before continuing.

"She said that unless you apologize to her by the end of the day, she will tell the principle what happened."

"Why do you think I care?"

"Damon! You could get expelled for this!" He looks at me in disbelief "Don't be an idiot, just apologize! You don't even have to mean it."

"You're the only idiot I see around here baby bro. I'm not apologizing to anyone, see ya." I turn around and continue to walk, leaving my brother standing frustrated behind.

I continue to walk through the almost empty hallways, most students in the cafeteria right now and stop when I see Rebekah standing alone by her locker.

"Hello Goldilocks." I come up behind her with a smirk and she turns to face me with a glare.

"What do you want, Damon?"

I shrug, leaning back against the locker beside her while crossing my arms "I just wanted to talk to you, you're looking very pretty today."

She rolls her eyes before slamming her locker shut and turning to face me. "Is this about what happened today with Kol?"

"Kol who?" I tease and she huffs in annoyance before turning around to walk away but I reach out and grab her wrist pulling her back to me. "Ok fine, yes. Is it true?" she looks nervous at my question and stays quiet "Rebekah please."

"Yes," She sighs, pulling her hand out of my grasp to run it through her hair anxiously. "Klaus came back, it wasn't for long, it was literally for one night."

"That would have been enough." I mutter, ignoring the glare she gives me at my words. "Do you know where he has gone?"

"No."

"Rebekah," I step closer to her, so she is now pinned against the lockers and run a finger down her cheek "You can tell me."

"You can't play me, Damon, I'm not stupid." She scowls and pushes my hand away.

"I'm not trying to play you, Rebekah, I just want some answers. Don't you think I deserve some after what he did?"

"I'm not saying that you don't deserve to know, Damon, I'm just saying that I can't tell you anything."

"Can't, or wont?" I challenge.

"Can't." She replies firmly "I don't know where he is, I barely even spoke to him when he came back, believe it or not I don't condone neither of my brothers behaviors " She mutters and I watch as her eyes land on mine for a second before she frowns. "What's changed, Damon?" I grimace as she continues. "Last semester, towards the end anyway, you seemed to stop looking for him. _You_ changed."

I scowl at her words "I was stupid, I lost focus."

"No, you matured, you grew up."

"Why do you even care?" I frown "You hate me!"

"I don't hate you, Damon." She tells me seriously "And despite everything, I don't hate Klaus either, so even if I _did_ know something, which I don't, I wouldn't tell you. Just to be clear on that." She says firmly and I sigh before taking a step back away from her.

"Crystal." I send her a mocking smile and watch her walk away before slamming my fist against the nearest locker in frustration.

* * *

I walk through the library quickly during my free period, gliding between different aisles and students as I head towards the back and stop and let out a relieved sigh when I see I was successful.

There is Damon sat at an old desk in the corner that rarely gets used, his eyes focused on a book, his eyes scrunched together in concentration as he reads and it makes my stomach flutter.

He is so strikingly handsome.

Almost as if he can sense someone watching him, his eyes leave the book and travel up to face me and he freezes. I watch as his eyes widen for a split second before a scowl crosses his face and he goes to stand up but I immediately cross the small space between us and sit down next to him, pulling down on his arm causing him to fall back into his seat.

"What do you want, Elena?" he questions with a huff and I decide to dive straight in. This could be my only chance.

"I know you hate me, and I understand that, I really do and you have no idea how _sorry_ I am, Damon, I shouldn't have listened to Stefan, I know you, I knew you weren't capable of it but he had evidence that seemed to back him up and I panicked! I made a mistake, and I've regretted it ever since! You don't know how desperate I've been to see you again, to apologize " I try and reach out and hold his hand, tears in my eyes, but he shuffles his own away from me and I sigh, knowing that I was probably pushing my luck. "I'm _so_ sorry, Damon, and I _need_ your forgiveness because not being able to see you and speak to you every day is _killing _me, please, I'm sorry."

We sit in silence for a moment and I watch as Damon looks down at the table below, his eyes squinted together in a frown and his entire body looks tense.

"You can go now, Elena."

"Damon, please!" I plead with him "I miss you so much!"

"Well that's too bad." He finally lifts his head up to look at me and again I gasp slightly at the cold empty look in his eyes. "We should never have even been friends in the first place, Elena. Now go."

"Please." I whisper, a lone tear falling from my eyes down my cheek as he gathers up his things and stands up. "Damon." He goes to walk away but I stand up and reach out and grab his arm. "Ok fine, you don't have to talk to me," I sigh and let out a shaky breath to try and stop myself from crying before I continue "But can you please at least go and apologize to Miss Flemming, you may get suspended or worse otherwise and I don't want that for you, Damon! You have a future, you can go to college if you want! Don't screw this up because of something stupid that I did."

He stays silent at my words and I watch as his eyes close for longer than a second before he removes my hand from his arm and turns around and walks away without saying another word leaving me left standing feeling deflated and more alone than ever.

* * *

I groan a little as I hover outside in the hallway. The bell signalling the end of the day was fifteen minutes ago and most of the students have already made their escape but I'm still left here.

This is stupid.

I turn to walk away but the door opens behind me "Mr Salvatore." I grimace slightly before turning around to see Miss Flemming looking at me expectantly with her arms crossed against her chest. "Are you waiting for me?" I nod my head reluctantly and she motions for me to follow her into her classroom. "What is it that you wanted?" she asks in a tone which shows that she very much knows why I'm here.

"I uh," I mumble and run my hand through my hair awkwardly "This morning, in class, that shouldn't have happened."

"No, it really shouldn't have." She replies crossly with a frown on her face. "Is that why you've come? To apologize?"

I nod my head slightly "Elena told me that if I didn't apologize I could get expelled so I didn't really have a choice." I decide to go with the honest approach, because I'm not sorry, and if Kol pissed me off again tomorrow I will probably do the same thing.

"Wow, was that it?" she looks at me in disbelief.

I shrug and don't answer.

"Is Elena your girlfriend?" she asks curiously and I immediately scowl.

"No." I snap coldly.

"I can see that she cares a lot about you." She continues "God knows why, you seem like too much hard work to me."

"Are we done here?" I ask in annoyance, wondering why the hell this conversation has turned into one about Elena Gilbert when she is the last person I want to have in my thoughts right now.

I've spent the last month trying to pretend that she doesn't exist.

"Do you think you've done enough?" she questions me "That didn't sound like a genuine apology to me."

"Fine." I huff "I'm sorry, happy?"

She lets out a dry laugh and rolls her eyes "Ok fine, you can go." I walk towards the door "But Damon," She stops me and I turn around to face her "I've heard a lot of bad things about you since I moved to this town and another stunt like that and I'll be driving to throw you out of this school myself!"

I glare at her before leaving and slam the door shut behind me. "Bitch." I mutter under my breath before walking towards the exit.

I'm about to leave the school gates when I notice Elena standing by the edge of the football field with Bonnie and Caroline, all three of them in their cheerleading uniforms and I frown wondering why she still hasn't found the courage to quit yet.

I sigh and curse my own behavior as I make a quick detour towards them, coming up behind Elena and I watch as a surprised look cross all three of their faces as they notice me approaching.

"Damon." Elena almost whispers my name but I hear it, a small smile appearing on her lips but I don't return it.

"I apologized to Miss Flemming." I tell her bluntly and I watch as her smile widens but that just makes me frown more. "Don't ask me to do anything for you again." The smile falls immediately from her lips and I turn around and walk away, forcing the guilt out of me at the look on her face at my words.

I won't let myself get hurt again; I can't worry about upsetting her feelings because I can't let myself care again.

I'm done with _feelings_.

The sooner she realizes that the better it'll be for the both of us and she can get back to her old life, away from all the trouble and drama that I'll bring her.

* * *

**Hope you liked this! Thank you all lots and lots for the reviews! They helped me finish this chapter so thank you! :)**

**I know some of you mentioned that you thought it was a little OOC of Elena to believe Stefan, and it was a little, but she was sure Stefan was wrong until he pulled out that piece of evidence showing that Katherine was shot from Damon's gun where she doubted him, that was when she started to think that it was true. Just wanted to defend her a little bit! She had a moment of stupidity.**

**PS anyone watch the show last night? whoa! HOT! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

"Think you'll be able to stay out of trouble next week, Damon?" Giuseppe asks me at the dinner table as he sips on a glass of scotch. "Your brother informed me of your behavior the other week with Kol Mikaelson." I scowl and glance across the table at Stefan who looks down at his plate guilty.

"Thanks a lot, _brother_." I hiss at him coldly.

"He would have found out eventually!" Stefan immediately defends himself.

"Don't blame Stefan for this, he was doing the right thing, something you should take note of sometimes, Damon. It wouldn't hurt you to actually behave for once." He scolds me and I roll my eyes.

"Whatever." I mutter under my breath and jump when Giuseppe slams his fist against the table causing all our plates and glasses to shake.

"You talk to me with respect!" he shouts at me angrily and when I don't reply he shakes his head before taking another drink from his glass. "You will both attend the founding family party with me tomorrow, no arguments; I want you both in a suit, looking smart."

"Of course." Stefan nods his head in agreement.

"Damon, you'll be there too." Giuseppe tells me "And you will be on your best behavior."

"Do I have a choice?"

"No." his voice is firm and commanding before he pushes his chair back and stands up "I've got work to do, I expect you both up bright and early tomorrow to go round to the Lockwood mansion to help set up." He informs us before leaving the dining room.

I glare at Stefan as I stand up and notice that he does the same. "Did you really have to tell him?"

"Yes." Stefan glares back "Believe it or not, I'm actually trying to help you!"

"How the hell is telling Giuseppe about what happened with Kol helpful?" I question in disbelief.

"Because your behavior is getting out of control, Damon!" he argues, his voice rising slightly "You haven't spent an entire night these past two weeks sober Damon! You come in at god knows what time in the morning before going to school looking like a zombie because you're too hung-over to function and then you do the same again the next night! Some days you come back with cuts and bruises on your face! You knuckles bloody and bruised! It's getting out of hand, I had to tell Dad _something_ so he would try and sort you out!"

"I don't need sorting out!" I hiss at him furiously "I'm perfectly fine! It's not my problem is you don't know how to have fun! So what, I like to go out to bars with my friends and get drunk, who doesn't?! We may get in a couple of fights sometimes, big deal! I'm not out of control, I'm very much aware of everything I'm doing!"

"Are you?" he challenges me and walks around the table so we are now stood face to face "Do you even know that you're hurting Elena? Every day."

"Don't bring her into this; this has nothing to do with her!"

"Does it not?" he looks at me tensely "We may not be together anymore, but I still know her, I still see the look of hurt and pain on her face every time she tries to talk to you and you reject her, every time you walk past her without even acknowledging her! You're hurting her, Damon! I thought she was probably the only person you cared about but it seems I was wrong! You don't deserve her."

"Why am I suddenly the bad guy here? I didn't ask her to accuse me of murder!" I scowl. I know I'm hurting Elena, I don't need to be reminded of it.

"That was my fault, Damon! She didn't want to believe me but I pretty much made her, I showed her the evidence, I practically swore to her that I was telling the truth! You can't hate her forever. Why can't you just forgive her? You've forgiven me!"

"Wrong!" I reply instantly "I haven't forgiven you, but unfortunately for the both of us we're brothers so I don't have a choice on the matter to talk to you! Elena however I have no obligation too, she's not my problem anymore!"

"You know that's not true." Stefan sighs "I know you cared for her, Damon. Don't shut that part of you off, she meant something to you, she _means_ something to you!"

"She means nothing to me!" I shout at him furiously before pushing past him and storming out of the room.

Trying to make myself believe my own words.

* * *

"Elena, don't forget the chili!" Jenna calls after she rushes past me through the kitchen while slipping on her jacket.

"I know, Jenna." I sigh and open the fridge before pulling out the large bowl of chili that is a Gilbert family recipe that I had made the evening before.

"Where's your brother?" she asks hurriedly as she rummages around the dining room table, picking up her phone and her purse and putting them in her bag.

"Upstairs I think, Anna is with him." I explain with a tired shrug.

"Jeremy! Come on we're already late!" she shouts before scrambling around some more like she is looking for something. I sigh when I see her car keys on the kitchen counter and pick them up and handing them to her "Thanks." She smiles at me as I nod my head before picking up the bowl of chili and following her into the hallway, my Aunt shouting again at Jeremy to hurry up as she opens the front door. "Are you going to cheer up?" she questions me as we walk to her car.

"I'm fine." I lie.

"Elena," She sighs and turns to face me, a sympathetic smile on her face "You've been miserable for weeks. Stefan will be at the party; you can speak to him then, talk some things over."

I frown at her words "Stefan isn't the problem." I mutter in annoyance before climbing into the front seat of her car. I see Jenna's shoulders deflate slightly before she opens the driver's seat door and gets in.

"Damon?" she asks softly as she closes the door and I turn my head away from her and look out the window quietly as we wait for Jeremy to join us.

"He hates me." I mumble quietly and think back over the last two weeks since he's been back in town. He's barely even looked at me.

"I'm sure that's not true." She tries to reassure me.

"No you don't understand, I did something…accused him of something, and now he hates me and to be honest I don't blame him, I hate myself." I bite on my lip slightly and plead with myself not to cry. I've cried enough lately.

"Don't say things like that, Elena."

"It's true!" I raise my voice loudly before sighing "Sorry." I mumble apologetically.

"I'm sure whatever you did wasn't that bad."

I scoff and shake my head because it was possibly the worst thing I could have done to him. I regret it more than anything in the world.

"Can we just stop talking about it?" I plead as I watch Jeremy and Anna finally leave the house and walk towards the car.

"Fine." Jenna sighs giving in just as my brother and his girlfriend climb into the back seats, apologizing for taking so long.

* * *

As soon as we walk into the Lockwood mansion Jeremy and Anna make themselves scarce and my Aunt Jenna is pulled away by an old school friend so I'm left standing by myself. I look around the crowded room, looking to see if Caroline is here yet but I have no luck.

I sigh and pick up a glass of champagne from a waiter walking by, not even caring that everyone here knows I'm underage. It's not uncommon for the younger generation to drink _formally_ at these kinds of events.

I sip on my drink, grimacing slightly at the taste and make my way further into the house, nervously wondering if Damon is here.

It doesn't take me long to find him, it's almost as if I'm automatically drawn to him.

He is standing in a corner, in a suit with his tie loose and his shirt untucked and it makes me smile because I know how much he hates these things. I frown however when I realize he is in the middle of some kind of quiet confrontation with his father. Giuseppe is jabbing his finger into Damon's chest while the younger Salvatore stands and glares back, both jaws wagging, talking at each other, trying not to raise their voices to draw attention.

I take a step forward as Giuseppe pushes Damon back against the wall before pointing his finger in his face and for a second I debate on whether or not I should go over but I know neither Salvatore would appreciate it.

"Elena."

I turn around at the familiar voice and look surprised when I see John Gilbert smiling down at me.

"Uncle John!" I look at him confused and a little shocked to see him here, I didn't even know he was in town "What are you doing here?"

He smiles and pulls me in for an awkward hug which I awkwardly return before pulling away. "I thought I'd pay my favorite niece and nephew a visit." He casually explains.

"We're your only niece and nephew." I roll my eyes before letting out a small smile "Does Jer know you're back?"

"Not yet, I was hoping to see him here." He looks around for a moment scanning the room.

"He should be around somewhere…" I explain and we fall into a slightly awkward silence. We have never really been that close.

"How's school going?" he asks curiously and I shrug.

"Ok I guess."

"Just ok?" he asks "You're still getting good grades I hope."

I roll my eyes a little "Yes."

"Good to know, us Gilbert's are smart people, you know, you've got a reputation to protect. Your father was crowned valedictorian his senior year."

"I'm aware." I mumble, just another bit of pressure pushed on my shoulders to carry on my parents legacy.

I watch as he nods his head slowly, a small smile on his lips as he places his hand on my arm "I best go and mingle, I have a lot of people to catch up with, I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

"Sure." I nod my head and watch him leave and I turn back around to look over at the corner Damon and his Dad were standing in but it's empty.

I sigh before grabbing another glass of champagne from a passing waiter, knowing that I'll need it if I'm going to survive this afternoon.

* * *

I frown when I see Tyler talking and laughing with Caroline Forbes, wondering when the two of them became friends but shrug it off before walking straight towards them and grab Tyler's arm and go to pull him away.

"Come on Tyler, we need to have a chat." I tell him with a nod and he agrees and goes to follow me but Caroline steps in between us with a scowl on her face.

"Um excuse me, we were in the middle of a conversation!" she glares at me.

"Yes and I'm sure it was very _thrilling_ but we have more important things to discuss, now if you will excuse me, thanks." I glare back and go to turn to walk away but Caroline stops me.

"Where do you get off huh?" she hisses at me furiously.

"What are you on about Barbie?" I question in annoyance, I don't have time for this.

"You think you can just waltz back in to this town and go on as if you own the place, messing with people's lives, hurting people! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Caroline." Tyler tries to interrupt but she cuts him off.

"No Ty, I'm sick of all the trouble he has caused people I care about! You pretty much broke up Stefan and Elena, who by the way were perfect together until you stuck your nose in! Now Stefan is hurt and angry all the time and Elena is absolutely _miserable_! I don't know what the hell you did, Damon, but you've wounded her! All you've done in this town is _hurt_ people and I'm sick of standing by and letting it happen!"

"You don't know _anything_." I take a step closer to her furiously. Who the fuck does she think _she_ is!

"I know that Elena hasn't been herself in weeks! I know that your own brother hates you and that your Dad thinks you're a waste of time! You're good to no one, Damon! Why the hell are you even sticking around? Klaus took the hint and left, why haven't you?!" she prods her fingers against my chest and I catch it gripping them tightly causing her to gasp in pain.

"Damon!" Tyler hisses angrily at me but I ignore him.

"You need to mind your own business." I spit at her angrily "Before I do something I probably _won't_ regret!"

"Back the hell off Salvatore!" Tyler pushes in front of me, pushing my chest so I stumble back a little, letting go of Caroline's fingers.

"You got a problem with me now too Lockwood?" I regain my balance and head towards him but another body steps in front of me instead, gripping onto my shoulders tightly.

"Don't do this Damon, not here." I look up with a scowl to see Alaric staring down at me with a look of warning on his face. I look around and notice that some people's eyes are on us, including my father, who does not look happy at the small scene I'm causing.

I grunt and take a step back before turning around and walking away, deep breaths escaping me as I swing open the front door and walk out into the empty yard.

"Damon!" I can hear Ric's voice behind me but I keep going. "Damon!" he must have ran to catch up to me because soon his hand is gripping my upper arm and he swings me around. "You need to calm down!"

"Back the hell off, Ric! This has nothing to do with you and frankly and I am getting really fucking _sick_ of you getting in my business all the time!" I shout at him while pulling my arm away from him, my nostrils flaring with rage.

"Maybe if you stop acting like such a wild animal I wouldn't have too!" he argues back before shaking his head and letting out a sigh "What is wrong with you Damon? This is more than just Elena and Stefan hurting you."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Why can't you just _talk_ to someone?!" he challenges me "It doesn't have to be me, but you need to speak to _someone _Damon because you're going to implode."

"I'm perfectly fine!" I snap at him.

"Fine?" Alaric lets out a bitter laugh "You just nearly broke Caroline Forbes fingers in front of half the Founding Council! Didn't you see the pain on her face? Or were you too blinded by this pent up rage that is trying to break out?"

I frown, not realizing that I was gripping her fingers that hard but apparently I was.

"Look," he sighs and takes a step closer to me "I'm only trying to help you, you need help!"

"I don't need help!"

"Have you even spoken to anyone about what happened before Christmas? You almost _died_, Damon, _again_!" I look down at the ground at his words, squeezing my eyes shut tight willing this not to be happening. "You have everything bottled up inside of you, all your hurt and anger over Katherine and Klaus, Elena and Stefan, your father, your Mom-"

"Don't!" I cut him off immediately "Don't bring her into this; this has nothing to do with my mother! You didn't even know her!"

"You're right." He nods his head firmly "I didn't know her, but I know that she killed herself and you were the one who found her, I know that Damon because you told me that yourself remember? I know that you think your father blames you for it, and that you blame yourself, just like you blame yourself for Katherine. You're carrying around all of this _guilt_ and _anger_ and _pain_ and it's eating you up, it's _destroying_ you. Maybe what happened with Elena was the last straw, but this is more than you just being upset over her falsely accusing you about Katherine."

I shake my head with my eyes tightly closed. This isn't happening.

I feel his hand press on my shoulder, squeezing for a second before he continues to talk "But let me tell you something, Damon, you don't have to feel guilty. Your Mom killing herself, it wasn't your fault; you were just a little kid and you weren't responsible. Katherine getting shot, it wasn't your fault. None of what happened was down to you!"

"Then why do I feel like it is!" My eyes fly open and I scream the words out and Alaric takes a step back in shock. "I could have saved both of them; I should have saved both of them! I don't want to stand here and listen to your psychiatric bullshit, Ric! What you say doesn't change anything! I know what happened, I was there both times! So please leave me the hell alone, stop trying to fix me because it won't fucking work!" I swing around and storm away, needing to get as far away as him as possible.

* * *

I go to take another glass of champagne from a passing waiter but a hand reaches out and stops me. I look up with a sigh when I see it's Alaric and I roll my eyes.

"Don't be a fun sponge, Ric, I thought you were supposed to be cool." I huff.

"I am cool." He tells me with a little smirk and I roll my eyes. "Can we talk?" he asks hesitantly and I nod my head slowly before following him out of the room, walking away from the crowds before finding an empty room and stepping inside, Ric shutting the door behind us.

"What did you want to talk about?" I move a little on my heels, realizing I'm a little tipsy before deciding the best thing to do right now would be to sit down. I sit at the large dining table in the room and watch as Ric sits down in the one next to me, turning his body around in his chair to face me.

"Jenna has been really worried about you, Elena." He starts and I sigh loudly.

"Please don't start this again, I'm fine." I say defensively.

"Yeah you look it." He points out sarcastically and I frown before looking down at the dark wooded table. "She's scared, she said you haven't been yourself in weeks, that she can't remember the last time she saw you smile or heard you laugh."

"Yeah well I haven't exactly been in the laughing mood lately." I mutter bitterly.

"I know you're upset about Damon." He smiles sadly at me and I frown.

"Yes I'm upset, but so what? I deserve to be upset! He hates me; he is hurting so much right now and it's all my fault! I saw him earlier, with Caroline, and I know I should have been mad about it, because she's my best friend, but I wasn't. I just felt guilty because this is my fault."

"No, Elena!" Alaric reaches out and takes my hand "You need to understand something here, Damon isn't acting this way because of _you_." He tells me reassuringly "I mean granted, what happened may have triggered it, but this has been building up inside him for a long time. He hasn't really had many people to talk to about things that have happened in his life, he's been carrying pain and guilt around with him since he was a kid, it was about to all spill out at some point."

I stay quiet and take in Ric's words, knowing he has a point. Damon really has been through a lot, and even though I don't really know the full story with what happened with his Mom, I know he suffers because of it.

"And he doesn't hate you, Elena." His voice is soft and comforting. "He loves you, that much is obvious." I snap my head towards him in shock at his words and he chuckles while patting my hand reassuringly before standing up "Don't give up on him, Elena. I can't help him right now, he won't accept it and if I keep trying I might make it worse, but if you keep pushing and trying, you might be the one to save him from himself. He's his own worst enemy is Damon Salvatore." He smiles sadly at me before walking out of the room, leaving me to let out a shaky breath I wasn't aware I was holding as I squeeze my eyes shut to try and stop the tears from falling.

* * *

I'm sat down in the mud by my mother's gravestone, staring across at it intently while trying to shut out Alaric's words.

No matter what he says, I know it was my fault. I found her, I hesitated in getting help, I stood frozen and watched as her lifeless body just hung from the ceiling, swinging slowly back and forth.

I remember ten minutes later when Giuseppe walked in, halted in shock to see me stood still just staring at her. He screamed at me to go and get help as he ran towards her but I couldn't.

As much as I _wanted_ too, as much as I willed my feet to move, they wouldn't, they couldn't, they stuck frozen to the ground as if someone had super glued me there and I didn't do anything, no matter how many times my father _screamed_ at me to get help.

I didn't do anything and then it was too late.

She was dead.

I tense when I hear footsteps and I turn my head and frown to see Elena walking towards me, her heels in one hand and a half a bottle of champagne swinging in the other.

"What are you doing here?" I sigh tiredly as she gets closer and she shrugs before sitting down next to me, her hand very briefly grazing my knee as she gets comfortable and I'm pretty sure I didn't invite her to join me. "You're getting your pretty dress dirty." I can't help but comment and I watch as a small smile crosses her lips.

"Whatever," She shrugs "I don't care." She takes a sip from the bottle before passing it to me "I stole this from the party for you."

"I don't know if it classes as stealing if the bottle was free." I roll my eyes, trying to hide my amusement but take the bottle anyway and take a large gulp.

"Shut up." She knocks her shoulder against mine and for a second it's like we're back to normal, but only for a second because then I remember the look on her face when she accused me of murder and everything is tense again.

"Elena." I sigh "Seriously, what are you doing here?" I ask her again, trying to keep my voice steady and distant. "I thought I made things clear at school the other week, we're not friends anymore."

I watch as she frowns at my words and looks away from a second, almost as if she is trying to hide the hurt, the hurt that I've caused her, but then she recovers and turns back to face her.

"You made yourself perfectly clear, Damon." She replies casually and I'm surprised by her tone "But then I thought, you know what, screw you."

I choke on the champagne I've just took a gulp off and look at Elena while spluttering, trying to get my voice back. "Excuse me?" I finally get out and watch as she shrugs.

"Screw you. I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that, I truly am." She says sincerely "But you don't get to tell me that we never should have been friends, because that's a lie. We're meant to be in each other's lives, Damon, one way or another so unfortunately for you, you're stuck with me." She tells me firmly and I can't believe this is actually happening and watch in shock as she stands up, flattening out her dress and dusting off pieces of mud and grass that stuck to it before staring down at me. "I'm not giving up on you Damon Salvatore, the quicker you understand that the better because I'm not going anywhere and I will get you to forgive me! I'll see you at school on Monday." She turns around and walks away and I'm left gawping after her.

I certainly wasn't expecting that.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Massive thank you as always to those of you who took the time to review, I really do appreciate it and you guys are the ones helping me keep this story going and updating regularly! **

**Until next time :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**Hi, sorry for the small delay in updating! I've been crazy busy this week at university so haven't had the chance to finish the chapter! Hope it's worth the wait...**

* * *

I watch with a grin as Damon turns the corner in the hallway and stops when he sees me with a sigh, he shakes his head before taking slow steps towards me as I stand by his locker.

"You Elena Gilbert, are relentless." He mutters as I step to the side a little so he can open his locker. "You've been waiting here every day all week; I'm not going to walk you to class."

I pout slightly "But I thought you were a gentleman Salvatore."

"Well you thought wrong." He pulls out some books and slams his locker closed before turning to face me. "Seriously, give up already." he grunts in annoyance and turn to walk away annoyed but I match each step as I follow him through the hallway.

"Nope." I say simply "Not until you agree to walk me to class, so until then _I'll_ walk _you_ to class."

"You're not walking me anywhere, you're stalking me!"

"Please." I scoff "You enjoy it!"

I watch as he struggles to fight a smile on his lips and that in turn makes me smile because that's a small improvement from yesterday.

I've decided to take Alaric's advice and be persistent with Damon, and the oldest Salvatore brother is right, I am pretty much stalking him. I've waited by his locker every day this week; I've sat next to him in every single class we share, going as far as making sure that I'm his lab partner in Chemistry this semester, much to his dismay, and I've even resorted to going out on some evenings and driving around to places I know he sometimes he hangs out at. I know it's a little stalkerish and desperate, but I _am_ desperate and I need him to know that I'm never going to give up on him.

"What are you doing tonight?" I change the subject slightly and Damon frowns and tries to pick up his pace but I keep up.

"None of your business." He scowls but it doesn't bother me, he's done worse and said worse to me this week to try and keep me at arm's length and unfortunately for him it's not working.

"Meet me at our bar at seven." I tell him once we reach his classroom and Damon hesitates and stops before stepping inside, turning his head to face me.

"Oh and how did it become _our_ bar?" there is something in his voice that is different and I can't tell if its nerves or annoyance.

"Since that's where I realized how remarkable you are." I shrug with a smile before patting him on his chest "See you tonight, Damon." I smile softly before turning around and walking away, _feeling_ his eyes on me as I go.

* * *

"Damon." I look up from my desk in the middle of chemistry to see Rebekah walking towards me, a sneaky grin on her face and I raise my eyebrow curiously wondering what she is after. I notice Elena who is sat on her stool beside me frowning as Rebekah reaches us and leans her arms on our desk, a smirk plastered on her face as she eyes me up and down.

"Rebekah, looking good as always." I admire with a smirk and I practically feel Elena tense beside me.

Rebekah smirks at me for a moment before speaking "You have a free period next, right?" she asks curiously and eye her with suspicion.

"You obviously know that I do."

"Meet me in the staff car park, I want to talk to you." She tells me confidently and I hear Elena cough slightly from beside me and I send her a glance to see that she's scowling down at her notebook.

"And why would I do that?" I question, a light smirk on my face because Elena is looking really pissed off right now. "Maybe I don't want to talk to _you_." My voice is light and flirtatious and I'm not sure if I'm doing it for Rebekah's benefit or Elena's.

"You'll be there Salvatore." She winks at me.

"Um do you mind? Some people are actually trying to work here!" Elena interrupts us with a glare and I try to hide my laugh at her face, man she looks angry! If I was Rebekah I'd be feeling a little scared right now.

Instead she just laughs and turns back to face me, her smirk plastered back on her lips. "I best be going, don't want to upset Princess Elena more than I have already!" she sneers back over at Elena who is fuming.

"Bye." She huffs and scribbles angrily into her notepad and I look between the two of them amused as Rebekah lets out another laugh and turns and walks away, leaving me with another wink as she goes.

"Hm" I mumble under my breath and go to open my textbook still in amusement. We sit in silence for a few moments; the only sound coming from our desk right now is the sound of Elena's pen practically tearing up her paper.

"You're not seriously going to meet her are you?" she finally gives in and drops her pin in annoyance, it flying straight from the desk and onto the floor and she lets out a frustrated groan which makes me chuckle which causes her to scowl at me as she rounds the desk and leans down to pick up the pen. I can't help my eyes watch her bend over and when she turns back around to face me she catches me staring and a blush spreads across her cheeks and I look away quickly.

"What's it to you?" I try to sound casual and uninterested as Elena returns to her stool. "I happen to like her."

"You're such an ass." She mutters under her breath at me, ignoring my question.

I turn my body to face her and lean one of my elbows on the table "And how is that exactly?" I challenge her.

She slams her notepad shut in annoyance and turns her whole body to face me, a look of displeasure and frustration on her face "You were just flirting with that bitch right in front of me!"

"So what?" I shrug like it's no big deal "It has nothing to do with you."

"Because we aren't friends, right?" she hisses coldly.

"Right." I confirm with a nod and watch as Elena lets out a bitter laugh, her smile cold as she shakes her head.

"How many times do I have to tell you how sorry I am?"

"I don't really care how sorry you are, Elena, I just want you to leave me alone. We aren't going to be friends again, you can wait by locker every day for the rest of the semester for all I care, it's _not_ _gonna_ _happen_." I rant at her and go to continue but stop myself when I notice that she has tears in her eyes. My heart starts pounding hard against my chest and a sickly feeling enters my stomach knowing that I'm the cause of all of this. "Elena," I sigh and go to speak again but she cuts me off.

"No I got it, Damon." She wipes her eyes with her hand and lets out a shaky breath, almost like she is willing herself not to cry. "You hate me, you'll never forgive me, we should never have even been friends in the first place. I've heard it all before, you don't need to keep telling me." She mutters out with a shaky voice before rushing out of the classroom and I watch her go feeling sick and guilty by how upset she is over me.

I look down at my desk with a frown, resisting the urge to run after her no matter how hard I want to.

"What was that? Is she ok?" I look up to see Miss Flemming walking towards me with a worried but ready to be angry look on her face and I just know that she's going to blame me, as always.

I roll my eyes before answering. "She wasn't feeling well." I lie and I can tell she doesn't believe me, not that it is any of her business anyway, the nosy bitch needs to mind her own.

"She looked upset." She pushes for an answer but I refuse to give her one and turn my head to the side a little away from her gaze to see that Stefan is looking at me with a glare of his own. Great.

"She's fine." I snap at the teacher in annoyance and she gives me one last warning look before turning around and walking back to the front of the classroom.

I put my head in my hands and try to stop myself from groaning loudly as I wonder why my life can never be simple and easy!

I hate that I've upset her; it's the worst feeling in the world.

* * *

I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath as I stare at myself in the mirror in the girls bathroom. The bell ringing signalling the start of the next period and I realize that I've left all my stuff back in chemistry.

I frown and make sure I look presentable before walking out of the bathroom, trying to pretend that watching Damon flirt with another girl right in front of me, Rebekah Mikaelson to make it worse, didn't hurt. I know that part of Damon was only flirting back because of me, I could see him looking at me from the corner of his eye and I knew he was amused by how annoyed I probably looked. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't help myself.

Then his words as he ranted at me hurt, because I had been trying all week to repair some of the damage that I caused between us and he pretty much threw it back in my face.

It's not like he hasn't said anything to me like this before, because he has, but I think just the added mixture of him flirting with another girl and then him telling me he doesn't want me in his life was all just two much for me to handle at once and I had to get out of there.

I cringe at myself in embarrassment, because I'm supposed to be showing Damon that I'm strong, that I'm willing to fight hard for him, not run away as soon as he says something to upset me.

I try to make myself forget about it as I walk back towards the hopefully now empty classroom, Damon is Damon, he can be a jerk sometimes, especially when he's hurting, I'm just going to have to get over it and move on and keep pushing him. Besides, I can punish him for all the times he's been an ass to me _after_ we're friends again.

I walk into the classroom and although I'm relieved to see that the classroom is empty and Damon free, Miss Flemming is sat at her desk and she turns her head to look at me surprised.

"Elena." She stands up and looks at me concerned "Are you ok?"

I nod my head silently and walk towards me desk to grab my stuff but frown when I realize it's not there.

"Oh, your friend Stefan took it, he said he would give you them later…" Miss Flemming explains hesitantly and I sigh and my shoulders slouch. Great, now I have to talk to Stefan. "Should I not have let him?" she asks cautiously probably seeing the negative look I'm held the moment she told me who had my stuff.

"No it's ok." I mumble and go to leave but she side steps in front of me and I frown confused.

"Sorry." She awkwardly steps back a little so we aren't standing as close and she forces a smile "I don't like to see my students upset in my class, if there's anything you want to talk about?" she asks with a soft tone and I wonder why she even cares.

"I'm fine, I'm sorry for running out like that…" I feel embarrassed enough as it is.

"Don't be sorry, Elena." Miss Flemming watches me for a few moments and it makes me feel uncomfortable "Was it Damon who upset you?" she asks and I notice her voice harden at the name of the eldest Salvatore. I guess she's still not over the fight incident at the start of the semester, understandable I guess. When I don't answer she continues "If you want, I can rotate some pairings around so he won't be your lab partner anymore." She offers and I immediately shake my head.

"No!" I blurt out, immediately cringing at how desperate I just sounded "No, you don't need to do that, I'm happy working with Damon. I don't want to cause dishevel by changing partners after we've already started our project."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind and I'm sure someone else in the class would be more than happy to work with you." She offers again and I still shake my head.

"No, it's not a problem; I want to work with Damon." She looks surprised by my answer and I don't know why but I feel the need to explain. "He's my friend, I know you had a bad first impression of him but he's a good person, he's just going through a hard time right now." I tell her in the hope that someone will be able to see what I see for once and that it doesn't just seem to be me and Mr Saltzman in the this damn place that can see how intriguing Damon Salvatore is.

"From what I hear he must always seem to be going through a hard time then." She comments skeptically and I immediately scowl and push to walk past her. "Elena." I hear her sigh behind me, trying to get me to come back but I continue to walk towards the door leaving some nice parting words.

"You know, for someone who is in a profession where you're supposed to show fairness and understanding to every student, you're really not doing a very good job."

I make sure to slam the door hard behind me; Damon style.

* * *

I walk around into the staff carpark and find Rebekah already there waiting for me, leaning against a random car with her arms crossed in front of her, a smirk resting on her lips.

"You came." She comments as I step in front of her and I shrug.

"Just get on with it Barbie, what did you want?" I ask her bluntly and she seems surprised by my harsh tone, probably not expecting it to be so cold compared to how I spoke to her back in chemistry, but that was mainly just for Elena's benefit.

I watch as she huffs slightly at my change of attitude before stepping away from the car so she is no longer leaning against it. "It's the Miss Mystic Falls pageant next weekend." She begins and I frown, unsure where this is going.

"Yeah? So what?"

"Well, I need an escort." She tells me and her expression tells me all I need to know.

"Nah uh, no way!" I shake my head immediately "Not a fucking chance."

"Oh come on Damon! It'll be fun!"

"Fun?" I ask her in disbelief "Miss Mystic Falls is my idea of hell! Besides, even if I was going, why the hell would I go with you?"

"Because I'm pissed off at Kol, and you're pissed off at Kol and I know he is escorting someone this year so I thought if we went together it would drive him _mad_." She explains with a smirk "You know I'm right."

I stay silent, thinking about her words because she does have a point. It would be nice to get a little revenge on Kol; I enjoy nothing more than pissing him off and taking his younger sister to a ball, dancing with her right in front of him, would definitely do that, especially since he knows about mine and Rebekah's history.

"Come on, Damon! He will hate every moment of it and he won't be able to even do anything about it because the entire town will be there and our father will make sure he's on his best behavior! Just say yes!"

"Fine," I sigh loudly "Yes."

Rebekah grins almost evilly and I wonder what the hell I've gotten myself into.

* * *

I sigh and look down at my watch as I sit at the bar, watching as it gets more crowded as the night goes on but there is no sign of Damon. Part of me knew he wasn't going to show up, but the bigger part was hopeful that he would prove that part wrong and come tonight but I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

I look down again at my watch to see that it's almost 8 o clock, I've waited here an hour. If he was going to come he would be here by now. I go to stand up but a hand on my shoulder stops me and pushes me back down into my stool and I turn around ready to snap at the drunken idiot but freeze when I see Damon step beside me and lean over the bar.

"Two beers and two whiskeys please." He orders and I try to hide my smile as he turns to face me, not wanting to seem desperate.

"You came." I comment simply and he nods his head as he pulls up a stool and sits next to me.

"Had nothing better to do." He shrugs casually, trying to act uninterested as the bartender hands us our drinks.

"Right." I reply while trying to hide my smile, I raise my glass of whiskey, not really sure why he has ordered me one because I hate the stuff, but he taps his glass against my own and I take a sip, cringing slightly at the taste.

Damon chuckles when he notices my expression and takes the glass from my hands. "You don't have to drink it." He smiles and it makes my stomach flutter because this is the first time I've seen him smile at me in a long time.

"How can you stand that stuff?" I grimace slightly and take a sip of my beer, thankful for the change of texture. "It's horrid!"

"I've developed a taste of it over the years." He shrugs as he downs my glass in one before moving on to his own. We fall into a comfortable silence; the first one we have shared since before the 'incident' and it's nice. It feels like we are somewhat on our way back to some kind of normality and I wonder what changed his mind. He was determined to not be friends with me again earlier on today and yet here is.

"Elena." Damon speaks up after a few more minutes and I turn my head to face him, watching as he twists around on his stool so he is facing me, his knees pressed against the side of my bare left leg causing me to shiver.

"Yeah?" I gulp slightly as his icy blue eyes rest intently on mine.

"I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier in class," he begins, his voice sincere and soft, and again this is the first time he has been like this with me lately. "I was out of line and I didn't mean to be that harsh and upset you." He finishes and I reach my hand out and press it against his knee.

"It's ok." I tell him softly with a small smile, squeezing his knee for a second before leaving it there, thankful that he hasn't moved away from me yet.

"No it's not," he shakes his head, his voice firm and I watch as he looks down to where my hand rests on his leg before looking back up at me, his eyes softer than I've seen in a long time. "I don't hate you, Elena. I could never hate you."

I feel tears sting in my eyes at his words and shake my head "You have every right too."

"No." he shakes his head and I'm surprised when he presses his hand on top of mine. "I forgive you, Elena."

A tear falls from my eyes and I nod my head. "Thank you." I whisper out with a shaky voice, surprised he can even hear me but I can tell that he has.

He holds my gaze for a moment before turning back around in his chair, my hand leaving his knee as he leans both of his arms against the bar and I watch as he takes a long gulp from his beer.

I sigh and take a sip of my own as we sit in silence and I'm just thankful that he has finally forgiven me.

* * *

A couple of hours later I'm feeling a little tipsy and I can tell Damon is the same, our conversations are now flowing much better than before and it feels like we are almost back to normal.

Obviously there are still some awkward silences between us and tension, and at times it looks like Damon is going to shut himself away from me again but then he snaps out of it and gives me his signature smile and we continue on with the night, just talking about pointless things that hold no real importance.

I'm surprised by how the night has turned out, I honestly wasn't even expecting Damon to turn up never mind be this much like his old self around me.

"Damon?"

"Yeah?" he asks while taking a sip from his beer.

"What really made you come tonight?" I ask curiously, hoping that he won't get defensive.

"Honestly?" he asks and I nod my head "When you ran out of class today, I felt sick that I was the cause of you being so upset. I know I haven't exactly been the nicest guy to you these past few weeks and I've been acting like a dick but I never wanted to hurt you. It made me realise how much I've missed your smile, I hadn't really seen the real one in a while." He explains with a small embarrassed tone to his voice and I realise his cheeks are a little red at opening up again to me.

I smile at him softly "I'm glad," I tell him honestly "I've missed you." I tell him and watch as he takes another large gulp from his beer. "Can I ask you something else?" I question hoping that I'm not pushing my luck.

"Sure."

"What did Rebekah Mikaelson want to talk to you about?" I try to sound casual but honestly I've been desperate to ask him about this since the moment he walked in the bar.

I watch as Damon chuckles slightly "Are you jealous Gilbert?"

"No!" I answer immediately with a scowl. "Not jealous…just curious."

"Well, she asked me to be her date to Miss Mystic Falls." He says casually and I almost choke on my drink.

"What?" I ask him in disbelief "You said no right?" I frown when he doesn't answer "Damon?"

"Ok." He cringes slightly "I may have agreed to be her escort…"

"What? Why? She's a Mikaelson!" Yeah because that's the reason why this bothers me! I try to hide how bad this makes me feel, because I am now very much aware of my feelings for Damon Salvatore and those feelings do not make me feel happy that he is going on a date with another girl.

"Exactly!" Damon says this like it's a good thing "I figured I might as well agree to be her escort if it means getting to piss of Kol. Giuseppe always wants me to attend these stupid functions anyway so I thought I may as well have some fun while I'm at it." He shrugs.

I stay silent and finish off my drink before ordering another, although feeling like I need something stronger I ask for a shot of tequila alongside it.

Damon doesn't seem to realize my anguish and orders one for himself with a smile before turning to face me. "Wait, you're competing aren't you?" he asks and I down my shot in one, not even cringing at the taste because I need it. I nod my head silently and he continues "Who's escorting you?" he asks curiously and I shrug.

"Don't know," I answer a little coldly. Honestly, part of me wanted to ask Damon to be my date but I thought it was too soon. "I was supposed to be going with Stefan but obviously that's not happening anymore." I realise I sound bitter, although it has nothing to do with my ex-boyfriend. "Maybe I'll ask Matt." I try to make my voice lighter when I noticed the frown cross Damon's face at my previous words.

"I'm sure the boys are lining up to take you." He tells me sincerely and there is something different in his voice that makes me curious but he coughs awkwardly and turns his head away, taking his own shot of tequila. "My brother is an idiot for letting you go." He mutters under his breath and I bite on my bottom lip nervously.

"Actually, I was the one who broke up with him…" I explain with a small smile.

"Oh." Damon looks surprised by this and I wonder why Stefan hadn't told him. "I thought it was mutual."

I shake my head "Not really, he keeps wanting to _talk_." I sigh "I think he wants us to get back together."

"And you don't want that?" Damon asks me curiously, a look I can't pinpoint in his eyes.

"No." I shake my head again and take a sip from my beer. "Stefan and I…there was no spark I guess, I loved him and I still care about him but I don't think I was ever in love with him." I tell Damon honestly.

Because if being in love is how I feel about Damon right now, then what I had with Stefan never even came close.

I notice the smile on Damon's lips and I look at him curiously urging him to explain his look. "What?" I ask self-consciously.

"You're not settling anymore," He says simply like it's the happiest news he's learned about in a while. "And I'm glad because you deserve so much better. I want you to get anything and everything you want from life, Elena."

I blush at his words and my stomach flutters at the sincerity in his voice and he leans forward and kisses my forehead softly and my eyes blink shut surprised and overwhelmed at his gesture and when he pulls away his blue eyes don't look cold and lost anymore and I realize something.

I have my Damon back.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, inspired me to keep pushing myself to finish this chapter when I have had a couple hours spare time here and there!**

**PS, who watched the show last night? Possibly one of my favorite episodes ever! I love Damon and Elena together, despite the sire bond! If anything I think it's a good thing because it's going to make Elena be the one to fight for Damon for once which last night showed that she's going to!**

**Thanks again for reading, hope you liked the chapter!**

**Until next time :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire ****diaries**.

* * *

"Come on you lot! Put some more effort into this!" the sound of Carol Lockwood echo's around the school gymnasium as we are forced into practicing the dance for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. "That means you too Damon!"

I glance to my left to see Damon roll his eyes as he dances with Rebekah and I frown before turning my attention back to Matt because watching Damon dance with another girl is really not appealing to me.

"That's it everyone, keep it up!" Carol walks around us as we all dance in a line "Matt, hold Elena a little closer." She tells us and I step closer to my friend as he smiles down at me.

"You owe me big time, Gilbert." Matt whispers and I smile. "I'm not from a founding family therefore I'm not meant to be taking part in crap like this." I can see the hint of a smile on his face so I know he is not being totally serious.

"Yeah well, I figured if I have to suffer through this stupid pageant then so do you." I laugh a little at the look on his face and when we turn in our dance I end up facing Damon and I see him watching us with a scowl on his face.

I look at him confused but he just turns away and looks back at Rebekah and I gulp slightly, trying to bring my own attention back to remembering these complicated steps.

"You should be grateful," I speak again quietly so Carol can't hear us "If I didn't ask you to be my escort you would be stuck in French right now and I know how much you hate it."

"I'm starting to think it would have been a better option." He says as Carol comes back around to us and pulls our arms up a little so we are in the _correct posture_.

"That is so much better, Damon!" I can't help but look over as Carol admires the eldest Salvatore "See what happens when you put in a little effort? I think you have a great dancer in him here Rebekah, good choice!" she compliments and I can't help but frown at the smug look on Rebekah's face right now.

Bitch.

"For God's sake Tyler, stop treading on my toes!" I hear the hysterical cry of my best friend and look over at Caroline who has been apparently forced to dance with Tyler Lockwood.

Carol quickly walks over to where they are standing and immediately scolds her son. Matt and I try to hide our amusement as Tyler huffs like a little boy and Caroline crosses her arms in frustration before storming away, shouting something about how unlucky she was to be paired up with such a clumsy buffoon.

"Ok everyone, let's take a break!" Carol orders us and I sigh thankfully and pull away from Matt, following him towards part of the bleachers where we left our bags and immediately gulp down half of my bottle of water.

Believe it or not, this is quite hard work!

"Hey! Sharing is caring Gilbert!" Matt pulls the bottle from my hands causing me to pout jokingly as he takes a sip from it with a smile and I roll my eyes before sitting down onto the bench and leaning back resting on the one behind me, Matt following my actions.

"So, you seem a lot happier lately." Matt comments and I shrug without answering "Does it have something to do with a certain someone called Damon Salvatore?" Again I stay silent and try to hide the smile from my face but I think Matt catches it and he chuckles next to me. "Wow, you _really_ like him don't you?"

"Shut up!" I punch him on the shoulder and he laughs louder.

"Oh my god, Elena! You're blushing!"

"I am not!" I defend myself but I can feel the heat growing on my cheeks. "Stop being an ass!" I send him a glare but it immediately turns into a smile at the look on his face and I go to punch him again but he leans back so I miss.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Matt smiles at me "It's kinda obvious actually."

There's no point in denying it anymore.

"Maybe to everyone _but_ Damon." I mutter and sneak a glance over to him where he is standing talking to Rebekah.

"Oh come on!" Matt nudges his shoulder against mine "Even a blind man can see how much Damon likes you, Elena!"

I think back to the time he kissed me on his birthday and it feels like _forever_ ago. Maybe he did like me like that back then, I mean I'm not totally stupid, but things have changed between us since and I know that I'm lucky that he even wants to be friends with me now, never mind anything more.

I'm sure that whatever feelings Damon may or may not have had for me went away the second I accused him of killing Katherine.

"There's a lot you don't know, Matt." I sigh sadly "He doesn't want to be with me, I bet he doesn't even like me as anything more than a friend."

"You know that's not true, Elena." Matt frowns at me words.

"But it is true, and that's ok because I'm fine with that." I try to sound firm but I know it's not working.

I just need to make myself believe that I will be content with just being Damon's friend.

* * *

"You're good at this, Damon." Rebekah actually sounds surprised as I follow her outside the gymnasium doors to go outside and get some air and cool down.

I shrug and a take a sip from my water and lean against the wall of the gym "I have many talents." I say casually.

"Oh I know all about some of your _talents_." She smirks at me and I roll my eyes. She's been flirting with me all afternoon!

"Yeah well, my dancing is the only talent you're going to see from me, Rebekah." I hit back immediately without missing a beat and she huffs like a child and leans against the wall beside me.

"You used to be so much more fun!" she pouts.

"Oh I have plenty of fun! I just choose not to have it with you!" I smirk at her and she rolls her eyes.

"You're an ass, Salvatore!" she glares at me but I can see some amusement in her eyes which makes me laugh and I sigh before leaning my head back into the wall, letting the cold late January air hit me.

"Oh I agree with that statement!"

I laugh and push myself away from the wall to see Kol and some of his stupid 'friends' walking towards us.

"Not now Kol!" Rebekah glares at her older brother who just flat out ignores her, his attention all on me.

"What do you think you're doing, huh?" he steps right in front of me so we're face to face and I smirk.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not going to this pageant with my sister." He tells me, his voice cold and full of hatred.

"Oh I'll do whatever the hell I want, thank you." I hiss back, my voice showing just as much hatred back at him. "Now back the hell off!" I push him, _hard_ and he falls straight to the ground and I chuckle. "You might want to hit the gym, Kol! That was way too easy!"

"Yeah? You think you're such a tough man don't you?" He glares at me as he climbs back up to his feet and motions for his boys to follow him as he walks closer towards me.

"Kol…" I hear the warning tone in Rebekah's voice but I don't hesitate in bringing up my fist and punching Kol straight to the face, causing him to fall straight back to the ground.

I know what is going to happen here, I may as well get a good hit in before I get outnumbered. Of course, just like I predicted it doesn't take long for a fist to land in my own face and soon enough I'm getting pounded on pretty much everywhere.

I do my best to fight back, but it's hard when you're outnumbered by like four people!

Kol knees me in the groin and I fall to my knees and he doesn't hesitate in kicking me in the face so I fall straight to the floor in agony, blood dripping from my nose and filling up in my mouth and I spit some out in disgust as I hold my stomach in pain to where Kol has just kicked me while I lay on the ground.

I hear Rebekah shouting in the background and then I hear another unfamiliar voice and before I know it Kol and his gang are running away and I groan while sitting back up to my knees, attempting to stand up.

"Hey, take it easy." I look up to see that the unfamiliar voice was Miss Flemming and I realize that would be why Kol and his boys ran away, scared to get into trouble with a teacher.

She wraps her arms around my shoulders and attempts to help me up but I immediately shrug them off.

"Get off me I'm fine!" I hiss at her coldly and she glares back down at me.

"You certainly don't look fine, Damon!" she scolds me a little and I frown and groan as I pull myself to my feet, noticing that Rebekah has also made her escape. "We need to go and get you cleaned up." She tells me.

"I'm fine!"

"I don't care, come on!" she motions me to follow her and I sigh before reluctantly doing so.

I follow Miss Flemming towards the nurse's room, still cringing that this is even happening but thankful that everyone is in class so I don't have the embarrassment of hobbling through the hallways with blood on my face! When we get there I notice the school nurse isn't there and Miss Flemming explains that she's off sick so she'll have to do.

I sit down and wince in pain as she presses a bud against one of my cuts before offering me some tissue to stop my nose from bleeding and I gratefully snatch it from her hands and press it against my face.

"Thanks." I mutter reluctantly and she shrugs before stepping back and searching through some cupboards.

"I'm just doing my job." She tells me and I roll my eyes slightly when a loud knock on the door interrupts us and I groan when I see Elena rush inside.

"Damon!" she gasps at the state of me and rushes towards me but I immediately hold out my arm.

"I'm fine!" I hate all this attention. I am very much capable of looking after myself.

"He's being stubborn." Miss Flemming turns around and smiles at Elena who glances between us for a moment before turning her full attention back on me.

She places both her hands on each side of my face and looks down at me worriedly. "I overheard Rebekah arguing with Kol about what happened, are you sure you're ok?" I can hear the fear in her voice and it softens me a little.

"Yes, Elena." I say softly but making sure my voice is firm as I place my own hands on top of her own while they rest on my face "Don't you worry about me."

"I always worry about you, Damon." She whispers, her eyes on mine and my heart starts pounding against my chest. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" she asks again and I realize that she's no longer talking about my injuries.

I know she's worried that I'm now going to go and do something to get back at Kol, and she's right, the thoughts and plans have already crossed my mind but she doesn't need to know that.

Miss Flemming coughs awkwardly and I realize how intense we probably look right now

I sigh and go to push myself up "Yes." I tell her firmly and stand up, removing her hands from my face but keeping them tight in my grip so now I'm towering over her slightly. "Stop worrying." I tell her and lean forward and kiss her forehead quickly and watch as her entire body relaxes. "Everything's fine, just some little cuts and bruises that will heal in no time, right Miss Flemming?" I glance over at our science teacher who is looking over at us curiously with a weird look on her face and I frown slightly when she doesn't reply. "Right?" I urge her and she snaps out of her trance and nods her head.

"Right." She confirms "I still think you should go home for the rest of the day though, Damon, just to keep yourself out of trouble."

I go to protest but Elena, who is still gripping onto both of my hands tightly, immediately cuts me off. "I agree!" she turns her head back to face me "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

"But what about rehearsals?" I don't want her to lose out on practice for the dance because of me.

"Forget that, I know my steps." She smiles at me, letting go of one of my hands as she pulls me towards the door. "Come on!"

"Fine." I sigh giving in and follow her towards the door.

"I'll let Mrs Lockwood know where you two are." Miss Flemming reminds us again that she is in fact still in the room.

"Thank you." Elena smiles at her gratefully before opening the door and pulling me out of the room.

* * *

"Ok, so what really happened?" I ask Damon as I sit on the edge of his bed. I decided to stick around after taking him home, even though he is insisting he is fine, I'm a little nervous to leave him by himself because even though he has forgiven _me_, he still seems a little angry at the rest of the world and the last thing I want is for him to go off and do something stupid to Kol that would get him into trouble again.

"I told you," Damon rolls his eyes as he makes himself comfortable on his bed, his legs resting out in front of him and his laptop resting on his thighs, as he pats the empty space beside me, motioning for me to join him. I look skeptic for a second and my stomach flutters when I realize this is the first time I've properly been in Damon's bedroom, and that I'm actually sitting on his _bed_ but he just looks so casual about it that I realize I'm being stupid by making a big deal about this.

I smile at him and crawl into the space beside him, lying back with my back rested against his headboard and scoot along so I'm close enough to see his laptop screen.

"I was standing outside with Rebekah getting some fresh air when Kol and some of his gang jumped me." He explains.

"Just like that?" I ask a little skeptically, wondering if Damon had done something to provoke him but then thinking better of it, I don't think he has ever lied to me before so there would be no reason he would start now, I trust him.

"Yes." Damon replies simply "It's Kol Mikaelson, he doesn't need a reason! Besides, I think he was just pissed that I'm taking his sister to the pageant, unless I did something else unwillingly to piss him off, I think that's all there was to it."

Yeah well Kol's not the only one who is not happy about Damon and Rebekah going to the pageant together!

"Speaking of…" Damon motions to his laptop "I feel bad that I'm making you miss the rest of practice so I figured we could watch the dance on here." He nods to the YouTube page that he has open and I realize that it's a tutorial to the dance we have to do.

"Oh I saw you today, Damon, you seem to have the steps pretty much down!" I compliment him and he smirks.

"Well, you know what they say, I am _the_ best."

I roll my eyes and pull the laptop from him as he protests before hitting the play button. "Well since some of us weren't born with natural dance moves, I'm going to need to watch this more than you!"

"Fine, fine!" he smiles at me and I gulp slightly as his arm wraps around my shoulders as he shuffles beside me so we are sitting side by side, the left side of my body pressed completely against his right, his hand resting on top of my right shoulder.

We sit like this for a good hour as we watch different videos teaching the moves and steps of the Miss Mystic dance, but all I can concentrate on is Damon's arm wrapped around me and how _perfect_ this whole thing feels.

I'm a goner.

* * *

It's the day of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and I've managed to hide away for most of the day's events already. I promised Giuseppe I'd be on my best behavior and I figured to do that I need to avoid people like Kol Mikaelson.

I groan when I hear an announcement on the speakers of the Lockwood mansion telling all escorts to get in their positions as the Miss Mystic dance is going to begin.

I reorganize my tie and tuck in my shirt before walking out of the room I was hiding in and make my way to the entry where we have to meet our dates.

I stand in line in my place behind Matt Donovan of all people and roll my eyes as he shuffles nervously on his feet and whispers each dance step under his breath to try and remember the routine.

I swear to god if he screws this up for Elena I will kick his scrawny football playing ass!

I wait patiently at the bottom of the stairs as each Miss Mystic contestant gets called down one by one before being escorted by their partner. I notice Matt step forward and I gulp when I realize that Elena must be next.

"Miss Elena Gilbert," Mayor Lockwood calls her name into his microphone and time freezes as I see Elena walk to the top of the stairs, her blue dress fitting her body perfectly as it flows down her.

She looks so _beautiful_.

"Escorted by Mr Matt Donovan." I frown because this isn't right. Elena shouldn't be escorted by _Matt Donovan_.

I watch as Elena slowly takes the stairs and something inside of me snaps. "Hey." I grab onto Matt's shoulder and step forward so I am standing right behind him, my lips next to his ear. "Swap with me."

"What?" Matt turns his head to face me confused.

"Swap with me!" I urge while trying to keep my voice low so to not draw unwanted attention. "I'll dance with Elena, you dance with Rebekah. Swap."

"We can't." Matt stutters slightly and I glance up to see Elena is nearly at the bottom of the stairs, a confused and worried frown on her face as she notices us talking.

"Do it or I'll break your hand Mr Quarterback." I mutter coldly at him and literally don't give him another choice as I step in front of him just as Elena gets to the bottom step.

I hold out my hand for her and she looks between me and Matt curiously and hesitantly before taking it, a small smile starting to grow on her face.

"Damon what are you doing?" she mumbles under her breath as I escort her outside to join the other contestants, Mystic Fall's finest civilians watching our every move.

"Dancing with a pretty girl." I see her blush at my words as we take our positions, a smirk on my face as she bites on her bottom lip and tries to stop her blushes.

I don't even notice Matt and Rebekah eventually join us, my eyes on Elena and Elena only because she is looking gorgeous in that dress.

We step forward and bow and as we do I speak quietly. "You look absolutely _stunning_." I tell her sincerely and I watch as she tries to hide her smile because our faces need to be neutral throughout the whole routine.

"Thank you." She whispers back and I nod my head before we start the dance, our hands grazing against each other lightly as we walk in a circle before I eventually get to hold her in my arms.

I watch as, just like me, she tries to her hardest to hide her smile and I make sure to never break eye contact as our feet move along to the music, never missing a step or putting a foot wrong. My hand pressed against the small of back, the other holding onto her hand tightly as her other hand rests behind my shoulder.

I know things have been…_difficult_ between us lately and we are both to blame. I've been an ass to her lately and I felt she may have deserved some of it but something changed between us the other night and I realize that I forgave her a long time ago before I realized it at the bar the other night, it just took me a while.

How can anyone not want to be around this girl?

She is perfection and I know I've fallen in love with her.

It's so obvious now.

The dance soon comes to an end much to our dismay and I keep my eyes on Elena, noticing her blushing at my intense stare and I offer my arm out to her which she gladly takes as I escort her off the dance floor.

Rebekah immediately comes bounding towards us, a very angry look on her face. "What the fuck was that, Salvatore?! You're supposed to be _my_ date!"

I roll my eyes and feel Elena's hand that is looped around my arm grip onto my biceps tightly, almost like she is _proud_ to be on my arm and that makes me feel happy.

"Things change." I roll my eyes and go to walk past her with Elena but Rebekah steps back in front of us, blocking our path.

"You're such a bitch, Elena!" she turns her attention on Elena who just looks amused. "You did this on purpose! You both did!"

"No," I tell her firmly "I wanted to dance with Elena, so I did." It really was as simple as that, although I am taking massive pleasure knowing that this also happened to piss off a Mikaelson.

"You've just embarrassed me in front of the entire town!" her voice raises slightly.

"Actually I think you're doing a pretty good job of doing that all by yourself Rebekah." Elena smirks at her and I let out an impressed laugh.

"You bitch!" Rebekah goes towards Elena, her hand raised as if she's about to slap her but I immediately step in front of her and grab a hold of her wrist tightly.

"Back the hell off before I really cause a scene." I threaten her, my tone cold and hard and I squeeze her wrist extra tight for a second causing her to flinch before letting go and offering my arm back to Elena as Rebekah steps back slightly, her face red from anger. "Thought so." I smirk at her and push past her with a grin on my face that matches this pretty lady's on my arm.

* * *

I giggle as Damon leads me into an empty room in the Lockwood's mansion away from everyone's prying eyes. I know we must be the main topic of gossip right now!

"You do know we are going to get into so much trouble over what we just did!" I grin and sit down on the couch in the room, Damon sitting straight down next to me. "I'll probably get disqualified. I think it's against the rules to change escorts so last minute, plus Rebekah will no doubt be complaining to Mrs Lockwood right now as we speak! Well, at least now I won't have to read out my lame speech."

I still can't believe Damon did that but I am so _happy_ that he did that.

"Do you care?" Damon asks a little amused, probably because I feel so happy at the fact I've just done something rebellious, no matter how small and stupid it may seem.

It feels good.

"Nope!" I smile widely and lean my head back against the couch "I didn't want to win this stupid competition anyway! I didn't even want to take part."

"Then why did you?" Damon asks me curiously and he shuffles on the sofa so his body is turned to face me, his arm resting on the head of the couch next to my head as I mimic his position.

"It's a family tradition," I explain simply "I kinda had too."

"Nah, you don't have to do anything you don't want too, Elena, I've told you this before." He smiles softly at me and his hand reaches out and pushes some fallen hair away from my face. "You look beautiful today by the way, have I told you that already?"

"You have." I smile softly back at him, knowing that I won't even be able to hide the blush on my cheeks right now. "You're looking quite dashing yourself, Salvatore." I compliment and it's true. The second I saw him today I noticed just how handsome he is looking in his suit. But of course, Damon _always_ looks good.

"You should start living your life the way _you_ want to, Elena. Forget about all these traditions, this town is too hung up on traditions, they forget about the real important stuff. Nobody will care that you won a small town pageant once you leave Mystic Falls, just like no one will care whether or not your last name is the one of a Founding Family."

"I know." I nod my head "Believe it or not, I do listen to you, Damon." I smile at him "I know now that there is more to life than winning pageants or being crowned Prom Queen. I don't want any of that stuff anymore." I shuffle closer to him and press my hand against his cheek, my stomach twirling with nerves.

"Then what do you want, Elena?" he asks me, his ice blue eyes resting on mine and I watch as he gulps slightly and glances down to my lips.

"I want what you want." I tell him softly and run a shaky hand down his cheek so my thumb is resting on his jaw and I hope I'm hiding my nerves. "I want a love that consumes me, a love full of passion and adventure and maybe even a little danger." I take a deep unsteady breath and look at him determinedly.

This is it. This is my chance.

"But most of all, Damon, I just want _you_."

* * *

**So so sorry to leave it there! I just couldn't help myself! Thanks to those who made the time and effort to review the last chapter, means a hell of a lot and you helped me finish this chapter finish quicker than I thought it would so yeah, thanks! **

**Until next time :) **


	18. Chapter 18

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire ****diaries**.

**I really don't feel like this is my best chapter, I have been so busy these past couple of weeks with assignments and deadlines and presentations but I managed to throw this together when I couldn't sleep! So here goes...**

* * *

"I want what you want." Elena's eyes glisten in the light as she speaks, her hand trailing down my cheek as her finger rests on the bottom of my jaw and I gulp slightly and glance down at her lips because all I want to do is kiss her "I want a love that consumes me, a love full of passion and adventure and maybe even a little danger." There's a determination in her voice but I can tell she is nervous.

She lets out an unsteady breath and her big brown soft eyes look directly into my own and I can see the fear in her own.

"But most of all, Damon, I just want _you_."

My entire body freezes and my heart starts pounding so fast and hard against my chest.

What? Did I just hear that right?

Elena bites on her bottom lip nervously and goes to pull her hand away from my cheek but I grab a hold of it to stop it and keep it in place.

"What?" I finally speak, but it's barely a whisper.

"I want you." Elena's voice is shaky and soft and it makes my heart flutter. "I know that we've been through a lot and that we've only just really become friends again and I don't want to lose you but I can't keep this to myself anymore; I love you, Damon, I'm _so_ in love with you." Her eyes are watering and a stray tear falls down her cheek and I bring my other hand up to wipe it away with my thumb.

"Elena, I," I whisper her name and look at her face and it's so full of sincerity and love and I've never seen anything like it before and I start to panic and pull my hand away from her. "I could be so wrong for you, don't you get that? I'm trouble, I do bad things, and I hurt people. I don't want to ever hurt _you_."

"No!" Elena immediately shakes her head "You're perfect. I love you, Damon. I _love_ you. Don't do this, please." Another tear falls from her eyes and I squeeze my eyes shut almost like I'm in pain. "You deserve _this_."

The last girl who I loved ended up dead.

"I'm not Katherine." Elena whispers softly and my eyes snap open in shock because sometimes I forget how well she knows me. "I won't hurt you and you won't hurt me, what we have is special Damon and I _know_ that you feel it too!" She places one of her hands on my chest and smiles "Your heart is beating so fast." She brings my hand down from her face and presses it against her chest "Feel this, Damon, this isn't wrong, this is _us_. Don't be scared."

"I am scared." I whisper and I can feel my eyes stinging with tears and Elena nods her head.

"Don't be," she brings both of her hands back against my cheeks and leans forward and presses a small kiss against my lips and I sigh.

This isn't wrong.

This is so so right.

"I promise you, Elena," I peck her lips again quickly and I can taste her salty tears that have fallen and I kiss her again, wondering if maybe some of them are my own. "I'll do everything I can to make sure I don't hurt you."

"I know you will," Elena smiles softly and I lean forward and kiss her properly, my hands rise to her face and pull her closer against me.

"I love you too by the way" I mumble against her lips and Elena smiles and lets out the cutest giggle I've ever heard.

"Good," she grins at me and attaches her mouth back against mine in a heated kiss. I push her forward against the sofa so she is now lying on her back and I climb on top of her, pressing kisses all over her face as one of my hands runs down her sides. She wraps her arm around my neck and brings my mouth back against hers, her tongue immediately slipping inside as she deepens the kiss.

"Damon," she mumbles against me and I lift my head and break the kiss, both of us panting breathlessly "Come back to mine?" she smiles shyly at me and I nod my head and climb off from her, standing up and holding out my hand which she quickly grabs as I help her up.

I immediately bring her against me and kiss her the second she gets to her feet and she giggles against my lips before wrapping her arms back around my neck and deepens it again.

"I don't think we'll make it." I mutter against her and she places both her hands against my chest and pushes me back a little.

"Come on," she whispers with a smile on her face, her cheeks reddened and I don't think she has ever looked so beautiful. "Let's get out of here."

"Gladly." I grin and follow her lead, her hand clenched tightly in mine as we sneak out of the Lockwood mansion unnoticed.

* * *

The second I close her bedroom door Elena's lips are pressed against mine and pushes me down into my bed.

"Are you sure?" I ask her seriously and she nods her head before leaning forward and pressing her lips against mine in a slow soft kiss.

"Really sure, I just want to be with you." she mumbles against my lips and I smile at her before pushing her down so I am now lying on top of her. I kiss her lips hungrily before pulling away and trailing kisses along her neck. Her hands trail down my body and I lift my head up so she can rip my shirt off of me, and she leans up so I can unzip her dress.

"You are so beautiful" I mumble against her skin as I lean my head down and trail slow wet kisses across her collarbone before heading downwards.

"Damon," she moans my name loudly as her hands trail through my hair and I slowly trail kisses down her body before she pulls my head back towards her and kisses me hungrily. I can feel her hands going downwards and she unzips my dress pants and I pull away from her before climbing out of them. I am so hard right now and I hope that I will be able to last because she is driving my body insane and I don't think I can control myself for much longer.

"Elena, I don't have any-" I stutter in remembrance and curse at my stupidity but she cuts me off.

"It's okay," she tells me in a soft tone "I'm on the pill." she says and I smile and nod my head. My fingers nervously pull down her panties and I hear her gasp in pleasure as my fingers graze her center lightly.

"Are you sure?" I ask again in half a moan because I really don't think I will be able to stop and I watch as she gulps.

"Yes," she smiles honestly before leaning forward and kissing me softly "I'm ready" she tells me and I slowly nod my head and I slip out of my boxers before slowly entering her.

"Ah Damon," she gasps my name as I find a comfortable position and she wraps her hands around my back tightly as I slowly come out again before thrusting back inside of her. "Keep going" she whispers into my ear and I happily oblige. I keep at a steady pace and it's not long before I feel coming to a high and Elena moans into my ear before we both release together.

I pull out of her breathlessly before collapsing my naked body against hers, careful so I'm not crushing her. She lifts her head up to mine and kisses me softly. "That was...amazing" she smirks at me and I smirk right back at her.

"Yeah" I agree enthusiastically and nod my head "It really really was amazing" I grin before returning her kiss.

I pull out of her and roll onto the bed beside her, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her into my side. "I love you," I smile breathlessly and push some damp hair away from Elena's forehead that is stuck to her face.

"I love you too," She grins and strokes my face softly before kissing me softly and I sigh happily into the kiss and relax into her bed, pulling her covers over our naked bodies and hug her closer.

My eyes drifting shut with a small smile still resting on my lips because for the first time in a really long time I feel truly happy.

* * *

"Hmm" I sigh contently as my eyes flutter open and I'm gifted to the most beautiful sight to wake up too. Elena lying next to me in her bed, dressed in nothing but my shirt, a smile on her face.

"Morning," she grins at me and leans forward and kisses me slowly.

"Morning to you too," I mumble tiredly when she pulls away, I roll onto my back and glance around the bright room confused by what time it is and Elena takes this as an opportunity to climb on top of me, running a hand down my bare chest. "What time is it?" I question as she leaves a trail of kisses up my neck before pecking my lips.

"After eight." She mumbles tiredly and rests her head against my chest, her body flat against mine and I wrap one arm around her waist holding her in place as the other runs through her soft messy brown hair.

"We're going to be late for school, I don't even have a change of clothes." There's no urgency in my voice though, I'm quite content to stay in this bed all day just like we have all weekend since the pageant on Saturday.

"You don't need clothes." Elena mumbles against me and kisses my chest softly and I chuckle.

"I'm sure the Principle would love to see me turn up to school naked."

"I'm sure that more than half of the school would be _more_ than happy to see you at school naked, but unfortunately for them, this," she taps her hand against my chest and runs it down past my stomach "Is all mine."

"Damn right it is." I smirk and move her up to bring her into a searing kiss.

"Elena?" A knock on the door interrupts us and I groan quietly as Elena climbs quickly off me, pulling off my shirt and handing it too me before pulling a tank top over her head.

"Just a second Jenna, I'm getting dressed!" she calls back and like the pro that I am, with lots of practice over this weekend, I quickly and quietly walk into Elena's shared bathroom, making sure to lock Jeremy's door because it would be just a tad awkward if he walked in to see me standing completely stark naked in his bathroom.

"Come in!" I hear Elena say and I stand pressed against the door quietly, making sure I don't make a single noise as I put on my shirt that Elena handed me on my way in here, it's cold!

"Hey, you're going to be late for school." The voice of her Aunt Jenna is close and I realize she must be inside Elena's room now and I worry that maybe I've left some 'evidence' around and I stay still, hoping that Jenna doesn't spot anything out of place.

"Yeah I slept in, sorry,"

"Are you alright? You've been cooked up in your room all weekend. Does this have something to do with you being disqualified from the Miss Mystic Falls pageant?"

I try to hold in a chuckle because that is certainly _not_ why Elena has been locked in her room since Saturday afternoon.

"No, no, I've just had loads of homework. Um, sorry Jenna, can we talk later? I really need to get dressed; I'm late enough as it is."

"Oh yeah sure of course, I'll cook us all dinner tonight."

I hear the bedroom door shut but I stay rooted in the spot just to be safe for a couple more seconds before slowly opening the bathroom door to see a flustered looking Elena standing by her bed.

"That was close." I look at her amused and she glares at me before leaning down and picking up my boxer shorts and throwing them off me.

"I had to stand on these that entire conversation, pleading that she wouldn't look down and see them!"

I chuckle and pull them up my legs, noticing that Elena's eyes are watching me as I do so and I reach out and pull her against me and kiss her quickly. "Sorry." I smirk before kissing her again "I best go, gotta go home and shower, get a change of clothes…"

Elena nods her head and pulls away from me before pulling on a jumper over her tank top. "What are we going to tell Stefan?" I hear the nerves in her voice and I sigh.

"Don't worry about my brother; I'll talk to him tonight. Maybe we should keep _this_ on the down low until then?" I ask, despite my 'difficult' relationship with my brother, I know this is going to upset him.

"And what is _this_?" I look up as I finish buttoning up my dress pants to see that she is looking down at the ground with a nervous look on her face and I immediately cross the room and place each hand on either side of her face and bring her up to face me.

"There's no pressure, Elena, we can be whatever you want us to be, whatever." From the look on her face I don't think I've said the right thing so I bend down and kiss her softly, Elena's hands coming to rest lightly on my hips and I slowly pull away. "If any of the boys saw me right now I would be a dead man, _but_…" I run my thumbs over her cheeks "Elena Gilbert, will you be my girlfriend?"

I watch as she blushes and a wide smile crosses her face, her grip on my hips tightening. "You're bad boy reputation just went straight out the window."

"I know." I smirk "Now answer me."

"Yes," she moves one of her hands and wraps it in my hair bringing my lips back down to hers and kissing me quickly "I'll be your girlfriend, Damon Salvatore."

"Great," I realize I am probably grinning like a fool but I really don't care. "I really need to go; I'll see you at school?"

"Mhm," Elena nods and follows me to her window and I open it, glancing outside to make sure no one is watching before climbing over and slowly climbing down the wooden trellis fence on the side of her house. "Be careful!" my _girlfriend_ shouts down worriedly and I look up with a grin as I jump down once I'm close enough to the bottom.

I blow her a cheesy kiss, not caring that I am acting like a lovesick fool as I quickly start to jog away from her house and towards my own, very much aware that I'm still wearing my worn suit from Saturday!

* * *

I slam my car door shut and run across the empty car park very much aware that I'm a good fifteen minutes late. My hair is messy and I've barely got any make up on and I'm very much aware that it's obvious how little sleep I've had over the weekend but at least no one knows _why_.

I decide to skip going to my locker and head straight to class and I practically swing open the door, causing all eyes to land on me and I blush a little at the unwanted attention as I pant a little out of breath.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" I glance at Miss Flemming who is sat at her desk and she just waves me in.

"It's ok Elena, take a seat." I smile and go to my usual desk at the front and notice that Damon isn't here yet.

"Where have you been all weekend?" Bonnie whispers at me from my left and I shrug.

"Nowhere…"

"You've been AWOL, we were worried about you, are you alright? You look a little flustered?"

"I'm fine!" I immediately tell her and bite on my bottom lip to hide my smile "I just slept in."

"Right…" I can tell Bonnie is unsure on whether or not to believe me but she drops it anyway. "Caroline told me what happened at the pageant." She speaks up again after a few moments of silence. "You ditched Matt for Damon?"

I try to hide my smile and shake my head "It wasn't like we planned it…"

Bonnie is interrupted by the door opening and Damon casually strolls in, unlike me, totally calm and collected, looking completely normal and I wonder how the hell he does it.

He catches my eye and grins and I can't help but blush and he walks past me to his seat closer to the back.

"No apologies, Mr Salvatore?" Miss Flemming does not look impressed by Damon's interest. "You're 20 minutes late."

"I can tell the time, Miss Flemming." Damon shrugs and I turn my head to face him and he smirks at me and my smile widens.

"And I can tell you that you have detention tonight!" Miss Flemming glares at him and I turn to face her with a frown.

"How is that fair?" I speak up and she snaps her head to face me surprised "I was late too…"

"You apologized " She tells me with a small frown on her face. "Let's not start something here, Elena. Class, turn to page 22 in your textbooks and we shall carry on from where we left off last week."

I sigh and open up my book, glancing back at Damon briefly who sends me another smile and shrugs so I just smile back before turning back around and opening up my text book, knowing that today is going to be a long one!

Why did the weekend have to end?

* * *

"Hey! Damon!" I groan and turn around to see Stefan jogging to catch up with me as I walk through the hallway between classes.

"What do you want, brother?" I don't even bother to hide my annoyance. I was hoping to avoid him until I had to have the _Elena_ talk with him tonight.

"Where have you been?" Stefan holds his hands out in disbelief "You haven't been home since Saturday! Dad is so pissed at you for the stunt you pulled at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and you haven't exactly helped your case by avoiding the house!"

"I've been around! I just managed to make sure I kept out of his way, for that reason." I lie and go to walk away but Stefan grabs my shoulder and pulls me back. "_What_ Stefan?"

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" I ask confused.

"Dance with Elena." Stefan frowns at me and I sigh and look around the crowded halls. This is so not the right time.

"I wanted to dance with her, so I did." I say simply. "There was nothing else to it! I didn't realize it would be a rule breaker, I just didn't want to have to dance with Rebekah." Lie, I couldn't have cared less about dancing with Rebekah; I just really wanted to dance with Elena.

"Fine," Stefan sighs and runs a hand through his hair "But just so you know, brother." He takes a step forward and I frown "Elena and I, we aren't over. I'm going to win her back and I know that the two of you are friends again, so I just thought I'd warn you to back off."

Impeccable timing as always, my brother!

I let out a dry laugh, trying to ignore how much his words irritate me and side step him. "Tell that to someone who cares, Stef." I mutter at him coldly before quickly making my exit.

I guess this telling him about Elena thing is going to be even harder than I thought.

* * *

"I mean, I'm not totally bummed that you got disqualified because as far as I could see you were my biggest competition, so it worked out well since I took the crown for the second year in a row, but still, Elena, it sucks for you!"

"Caroline!" Bonnie looks at our blonde friend in disbelief but I just laugh and shake my head and wave her off.

"It's fine, really, I'm glad you won Caroline, you deserved it!" I tell her sincerely, because it's true, she put so much effort into the pageant whereas all I did was pick out a nice dress and made sure I knew the dance routine, even my speech was rushed and full of cliches that I didn't even mean.

"I still can't believe Damon would sabotage you like that! He is such a jerk!" Caroline's eyes harden at the mention of my…_boyfriend,_ And I immediately frown.

"He didn't sabotage me Caroline…"

"Oh come on, Elena! He danced with you to piss off Rebekah, he used you!"

"No he didn't!" I immediately scowl at her words "Besides, it wasn't _just_ Damon's fault, I didn't have to go and dance with him, I _chose_ to do it! I wanted to dance with him!"

"What do you mean you _wanted_ too?" Caroline sounds totally baffled by this and also a little annoyed, which in turn annoys me.

I go to reply with something catty and bitchy but I notice Damon walking along the corridor and I freeze, a smile trying to force its way onto my lips at the sight of him. He stops walking when he spots me and nods his head motioning me to follow him.

"Elena?" Caroline waves her hand in my face and I snap my attention back to her and Bonnie.

"Oh, sorry! I um, gotta go, got to take a book back to the library, see you later!" I quickly rush past them before following Damon into the empty classroom he just wondered into.

"Hey!" I grin happily at him, making sure to close the door behind me and immediately wrap my arms around his neck and greet him with a kiss. "Couldn't stay away, huh?" I smirk and run my hands down his arms.

"Of course not," he smiles before quickly kissing my forehead and pressing his hands around my waist, pulling me closer against him. "But we have a slight problem…"

"Oh?" My shoulders deflate slightly and I frown, my fingers running through the bottom of his soft dark locks.

"I just had an interesting conversation with my brother," he sighs and looks down and I grimace.

"What did he say?" I ask nervously, noticing that his grip loosens slightly around me as he steps back, my hands falling from behind his neck down his chest but I leave them there and step closer. "Damon?"

"He seems to think the two of you aren't over." He half shrugs casually and I can see he is trying to make it seem like it doesn't bother him but I know better.

"Why would he think that?" I shake my head confused.

"I don't know but he does, he said he is going to win you back and that I need to back off…"

I sigh and close my eyes for a second. "Damon," I clutch onto his sweatshirt and press my body against his. "You know I love you, I'm in love with you, I don't want Stefan, I want _you_."

"Well tell him that!" he snaps slightly before immediately cringing "Sorry, sorry," He sighs "This isn't your fault." He runs a hand through my hair.

"I can talk to him if you want?" I offer but he just shakes his head.

"No let me, he's my brother," he takes one of my hands in his and entwines our fingers "Why can't things ever be simple?"

I smile and squeeze his hand that's holding mine. "I'm pretty sure you told me once that simple is boring."

He chuckles and nods his head "I did say that didn't I..." he runs his hand down to my lower back and underneath my top and I gasp as his cold hands touch my skin "What was I thinking? I'd take simple any day if it just meant we could be together, no problems."

"And again, like you said, that would be boring!" I smirk and lean forward kissing him slowly on the mouth before pulling away with a content sigh. "Stefan will get over it, and you know what? If he doesn't, well…fuck it."

Damon laughs at my choice of words and looks at me in disbelief, shaking his head. "You don't mean that."

"I do!" I defend myself "I don't care about anyone's opinion but yours! I mean, it _would_ be nice if Stefan could be understanding and ok about us, but if he's not then…I'm sorry but it's not our problem."

"I think I've been rubbing off on you." Damon says amused and I shrug.

"Maybe."

"Fuck it?" Damon asks with a grin.

"Fuck it." I smirk and kiss him.

Screw everyone else; it's only this beautiful man in front of me that counts.

* * *

**Hope you you liked it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, your input makes a lot and I hope this one didn't disappoint!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Until next time :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire ****diaries**.

* * *

I loud beeping noise wakes me up way before I am ready and I mutter under my breath as I pry my eyes open. I hear a groan beside me and turn around to see Damon digging his face into my pillow and covering the blanket over his head.

"Turn it off!" I hear his ruffled morning voice call out from underneath and I smile amused and take my time because it's his fault that we're so tired. He was keeping me awake _all_ night. "Elena!"

"Fine, fine." I chuckle and hit the snooze button before sinking back against my mattress and slipping my legs between Damon's underneath the covers. "It's your own fault you're so tired, why we're _both_ so tired." I tell him with no sympathy as I run my fingers through his hair slowly, massaging his head as he sighs contently into the pillow, still lying face down.

"You loved it." I think I hear him say before he finally turns his head to the side to face me, his eyes drowsy from lack of sleep but there is a small grin resting on his lips and he reaches out his hand and runs a finger down my cheek "It's not my fault I'm not a morning person."

"Lazy." I tease before leaning forward and pressing my lips against his in a slow sensual kiss. I eventually pull away and when he wraps his arm around my waist to keep me in place I immediately shake my head. "Nah uh, you need to go." I tell him sternly and he pouts like a child "Damon, I'm serious! We've both been late for school every day this week, people are starting to notice!"

"By people, you mean Stefan?"

"Yes Stefan, and Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, Matt, my Aunt Jenna, teachers…" I list off the names one by one and sigh. "When are you going to talk to him? We've been locked away in my room all week and I don't want to hide away like we have something to be ashamed of."

"Soon I promise," Damon sighs and kisses my shoulder "It's hard for me too you know, do you know how hard it is to see you in school and not kiss you? Pretty damn hard, Elena." He groans a little in frustration and sits up, his arm leaving my waist and I immediately miss it. "I'll tell him tonight." He says confidently as he pulls his boxer shorts over his naked lower body before rummaging around for his t-shirt which I find by my side of the bed. Woops, wonder how that got there…

I lean down and pick it up, throwing it towards him and he catches it against his chest. "You've been saying that every day this week." Now I'm the one pouting.

"I know baby, but it's been difficult to find the right time." He tells me sincerely and I do believe that if he could have, he would have told Stefan by now. "I don't want to keep us a secret any more than you do, but until we tell Stefan that's the way it has to be."

"I know." I sigh and lean back against the headrest. "It just sucks."

"I know it sucks, but it won't be for much longer ok." He pulls his t-shirt over his head and then slips into his jeans before walking around the bed and leaning down to kiss my forehead, then my nose, then my cheeks before eventually finding my lips. "I'll come over straight after school?" he mumbles against my lips and I slowly shake my head, my hands resting on either side of his face.

"You can't, I'm going to The Grill to finish up some last minute planning for the carnival tomorrow. I promised Caroline."

"Urgh." Damon moans and pulls away to pull on his leather jacket. "That sounds like fun, _not_."

"You're going!" I tell him firmly and he immediately shakes his head. "Damon!"

"I'm not going!" He argues back firmly. "I hate that stuff, there's not a chance in hell you'll see me there."

"But if you don't go then who's going to kiss me at the top of the Ferris wheel?" I ask with a pout before smirking sneakily "I guess I could just ask Matt Donovan…"

"I'll be there." He huffs and I immediately grin. "You're evil, you know that!"

I shrug and stand up, wrapping my arms around him from behind and standing up on my tip toes so I can kiss the back of his neck. "You love me."

"I _guess_ I do." He mutters and I frown and punch him on the back of his shoulder. "Oy!" he groans and pulls out of my grip, turning around. "That hurt!"

"Good!" I tell him pointedly before pulling on a jumper over my tank top, letting it flow down my body so it also covered my short shorts.

"You're an evil little minx when you want to be Elena Gilbert." He tells me while shaking my head and I smirk as his hands grab onto my hips and pull me against him.

"I know," I mumble against his lips before kissing him hungrily.

"You know," Damon pulls away and starts to trail kisses down my neck "We could just be late _one more_ day, it is Friday!"

"Nah uh!" I push him back and practically drag him towards my window. "Go, I'll see you at school." he kisses me quickly before opening the window and I watch worriedly just like I always do as he climbs over the sill and onto the trellis. "Don't forget to talk to Stefan; he needs to know before tomorrow."

"I'll do it." Damon tells me reassuringly before leaning up for one last kiss as I lean over the window to reach. He pulls away with a smile before quickly climbing down, like a professional, and I watch until he's out of eyesight before closing the window and getting dressed for school.

* * *

I dry my wet hair with a towel and stalk out of my bathroom and down stairs into the kitchen to make some coffee before I have to set off for school and immediately come to a halt when I see Stefan sitting at the counter with a bowl of cereal.

He looks up when he sees me and frowns confused. "Morning?"

"Morning brother," I cough awkwardly before walking towards the coffee machine and switching it on. "Um," I turn around to face him "What are you doing after school?"

"I have football practice, why?" he asks confused and I sigh. Of course he does.

"What about after that?"

Stefan shrugs and takes another spoonful of his cereal, some milk dripping down his chin. "Dunno, maybe go to The Grill, one of the guys house, I don't know…it's Friday night, Damon." He answers before looking up at me suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

I shrug and take a sip from my freshly made coffee "I just wanted to have a chat with you."

"A chat?" he finishes his breakfast and stands up and walks to put his bowl in the sink so we are now standing almost side by side. "About what?"

"I'll tell you tonight," I tell him slowly "But make sure you come home after practice, ok?"

"Ok sure, whatever." Stefan shrugs casually before grabbing his backpack from the stool. "I'm going to school, be in the car in the next five minutes if you want a ride." He tells me before leaving the room and I sigh and lean back against the counter knowing that this is going to be a very difficult conversation.

* * *

For the first time this week since Damon and I got together I actually get to school _early_. I'm feeling quite pleased with myself as I make my way to my first class of the day and I walk in to see that I am actually the first person to arrive. I smile to myself satisfied as I walk into the class and Miss Flemming looks up at me surprised.

"Elena." She says my name as she sits at her desk "Nice to see you on time for once."

I shrug and take my regular seat at the front of the class. "I've had a busy week." I half-heartedly explain as I pull my books out of bags.

"Everything ok?" she asks and I can hear the concern in her voice but I really don't know why it's there.

"Yeah, fine." I answer simply.

"You're not finding your senior year too much then?" she asks again and I immediately shake my head.

"No, no, everything's fine…_great_ actually." I smile to myself when I think of a certain blue eyed dark haired boy who has took over everything in my life lately.

"Are you sure? If you ever need to talk you know where my classroom is." She smiles at me and for a second I frown confused before returning it. I guess she is just being nice.

"Yeah, thank you." I nod my head and she smiles back just as the door flies open and in strolls Damon.

"Well, well, my eyes really must be deceiving me!" Miss Flemming comments with a shocked expression on her face and I watch as Damon rolls his eyes before smiling at me and I grin back but it falls slightly when I notice Stefan walk in right alongside him.

Stefan takes his usual seat beside me as Damon walks straight to Miss Flemming's desk to hand in one of his assignments he had an extension on.

"Hey Elena," Stefan smiles shyly at me and I force a smile back.

"Hi Stefan."

I look up surprised when Damon walks past his row and pulls out the chair to the desk next to mine on my other side, sitting down in Bonnie's seat and turning to face me with a smirk on his face.

I look at him confused for a second and about to ask him what he's doing but Stefan beats me too it.

"That's not your seat, Damon." He scowls at his brother but Damon just shrugs and leans back against his chair. "Bonnie sits there."

"It doesn't have her name on it, _Stefan_." He fires back immediately and I roll my eyes because I can't believe these are about to get into an argument over seating arrangements. "Besides, Elena is my lab partner; we _have_ to sit next to each other."

"That's in Chemistry!" Stefan huffs as more students start to fill into the classroom "This is Physics."

"Pfft." Damon waves his hand "Tomatoe Tomato."

"Will you two stop?" I interrupt in annoyance "Does it really matter who sits where? You're like children!"

"Sorry Elena."

"Sorry." They both speak at the same time and I groan and put my head in my hands. How the hell did I get myself in this situation when I'm literally in the middle of two brothers?

I notice that Stefan sulks beside me for the remainder of the class whereas Damon keeps on trying to get my attention and I glare at him because if he shuffles his desk any closer to mine we will literally be sat shoulder to shoulder and that _wouldn't_ be suspicious at all...

As soon as he tells Stefan about us he can sit on my _lap_ if he wants to but until then he needs to stop making it so damn obvious because all I want to do right now is kiss him, especially when he keeps sending me flirtatious looks with that stupid irritating, irresistible smirk on his face.

I turn my head and glare at him again and he just chuckles silently and taps his foot against mine under the table. "Stop it," I whisper, very careful not to draw attention to ourselves and very aware of Stefan sitting to my right.

"What?" he mouths at me innocently and I roll my eyes and kick him in the shin causing him to groan in pain and lean down.

"Problem Mr Salvatore?" Miss Flemming looks over from her desk suspiciously but Damon just shakes his head and sends her his usual mocking smile.

"Of course not Miss Flemming." He fires back before turning back to face me and smirking just as the bell rings signalling the end of class.

"Finally!" I mutter under my breath and slam my books shut, placing them straight into my bag and go to leave the room when Stefan steps in front of me.

"Hey," he looks at me meekly "Can we talk?"

"Um, I have another class in like five minutes…" I trail awkwardly and I can _feel_ Damon's eyes on me.

"Ok, what about at lunch? Will you be in the cafeteria?" his voice sounds nervous and he stuffs his hands into his back pockets and I try to look at anything but his face.

"I uh…" I stutter unsure of what to say and then I just panic "Sure."

"Good, great!" I look up to see Stefan's beaming smile "I'll see you later then." He sends me one last happy glance before turning around and walking out of the room.

I sigh and jump slightly as Damon walks straight past me without even saying goodbye and I go to call out at him when Bonnie links her arm through mine and pulls me out of the classroom and straight across the hall into the girl's bathroom and I watch as she checks to make sure no one else is in here.

"Bon, what are yo-"

"Want to tell me what is going on with you and Damon Salvatore?" she asks with her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised and I freeze.

"Wh-what? Nothing!" I answer defensively, trying to keep my voice from stuttering. "Why would you think that?"

"Um maybe because I spent the last hour sat behind you in class watching him flirt with you and you _enjoying_ it!" she gawps at me "Need I remind you that _Stefan_ was sitting like a foot away!"

I immediately frown "Stefan and I broke up like two months ago, what I do doesn't concern him."

"Aren't you forgetting that they are _brothers_, Elena!" Bonnie hisses at me and I immediately go to defend myself but she sighs loudly and shakes her head. "Sorry, sorry, I don't mean to judge."

"We have enough people doing that already." I mutter and then by the look on Bonnie's face I realize what I've just said.

"So there _is_ something."

"Yes," I sigh giving in "Damon and I are together now; we've been seeing each other since Miss Mystic Falls." I confess, feeling a little relieved that I've finally been able to tell someone.

"Elena! This is Damon Salvatore!"

"I know fine well who he is, Bon!" I huff, so sick of everyone judging Damon just because of his past. "And I know his history is kind of spotty but you don't know him like I do and I _love_ him!" I tell her confidently "I'm in love with him and he loves me too."

Bonnie actually looks surprised and we stay silent for a few seconds as she takes in my words. "And this is real?"

"So real." I tell her firmly. "I've never felt happier, Bonnie, Damon makes me happy."

"Then I'm happy for you, Elena." She says simply "That's all I want, for you to be happy." She smiles and I smile back in relief.

"Thank you," I smile and pull her in for a hug "You don't know how much it means to know that _someone_ will be on our side."

"Speaking of, I'm guessing you haven't told Stefan?" she asks skeptically while pulling away and I sigh and shake my head.

"No not yet, Damon is going to talk to him tonight." I bite down on my bottom lip nervously.

"You do know he still loves you, right?"

I shrug and go to turn to leave. "I feel bad but he needs to move on." I tell her seriously before opening the door, knowing that if we don't go now we'll be late for our next class.

* * *

I hear the front door slam downstairs and I know that Stefan must be back from football practice and I realize that it's now or never.

Elena informed me of what Stefan talked to her about at lunch time today and it made me realize that I need to stop finding excuses and just get it over and done with before it can hurt Stefan even more.

Apparently he misses her and wants them to be _real_ friends again, which I know is Stefan speak for '_let's get back together very soon'_. Luckily, Elena managed to get out of the conversation without too much damage and filled me in on all the gory details which made me even more determined to tell Stefan about Elena and me tonight.

"You're back late from practice " I walk down the stairs and watch as Stefan throws his gym bag on the ground and goes to sit in the lounge. I follow him in there and sit on the couch opposite him and watch as he texts someone on his phone.

"Make this quick yeah, Damon? I'm meeting some of the team at The Grill and I said I would pick Matt up in fifteen minutes."

"Right," I cough awkwardly and link my hands together before leaning forward and notice that Stefan is still on his phone. "Hey baby bro; can I maybe have your full attention here?"

Stefan rolls his eyes and puts his phone into his pocket before matching my stance and leaning forward on the couch. "Alright then brother, out with it?" he urges me impatiently.

"Ok, before I tell you this, I just want you to know that it wasn't planned and that it has nothing to do with you but you deserve to know and you need to hear this from me." I take a deep breath and hesitantly look up at me "Elena and I are together."

I sit in silence and watch as different expressions fall onto my brother's face, first a one of confusion, then one of disbelief and now it's quickly turning to anger.

"What do you mean, _together_?" he asks me with a scowl.

"I love her, Stef." I tell him sincerely and watch with a frown as a laugh falls from his lips and he jumps to his feet. "What's funny?" I ask in annoyance, also rising to stand up.

"What's funny?" he shakes his head, chuckling coldly "You love her? Are you serious, Damon? You aren't capable of love! You're kidding yourself if you think a girl like Elena would ever be interested in you!" he spits out coldly.

"Why not?" I challenge him. "Is it so hard for you to believe that Elena has feelings for me?"

"No, it's so hard for me to believe that Elena can't see how _wrong_ you are for her!" Stefan steps closer to us so we are now stood face to face.

"Oh yeah? Is that why she loves me?"

"Love?" Stefan scoffs "Is that what she told you?! Don't you see, she's going through a phase! You're the towns bad boy; she's bored and going through a rebellious stage! She'll be back with me before Prom!"

"You're _this_ close to me doing something I might regret, _brother_!" I hold out a small gap between my finger and thumb.

"Yeah?" Stefan pushes his hands against me so I shift back a little on my feet. "What you gonna do? Hit me? Go on then, do it, show Elena just exactly who you really are and not this façade that you've been putting on all this year!" he goads me.

I take a step back and shake my head because I am not going to give him the reaction he wants "I'm not going to do this with you, I just thought you should hear it from me that Elena is my girlfriend, I don't really give a damn if you don't like it but that's the way it is." I turn around and grab my jacket and walk towards the door.

"She'll leave you, Damon!" he shouts after me "Just like Katherine did! You'll hurt her and she'll leave you!"

I grimace and slam the door shut hard behind me and try to ignore the words that really did hit home to me.

* * *

"So Elena, who are you taking as your date tomorrow to the carnival?" Caroline asks me with a sneaky smile on her face "I saw you talking to Stefan today…"

Bonnie, who is sat next to Caroline in the booth across from me looks down at her glass awkwardly and I'm not sure of how to answer this because I don't know how Damon's conversation with Stefan is going right now, if it's even happening at all.

"Not Stefan." I decide to answer with and I watch as the smile on Caroline's face falls.

"Why not?" she asks with a pout before continuing "You two need to hurry up and get back together, he's your epic love!"

I grimace at her words because we most certainly are not _epic_. "We're never getting back together, Caroline. I don't love him, and can you please stop saying things like that about us; it's not exactly helping Stefan move on."

"How can you say you don't love him?" Caroline asks confused "You guys were perfect together!"

I can't exactly answer with 'I know I don't love him because I've just learned what really being in love feels like with his older brother'. Luckily for me, Bonnie jumps in to save me.

"Ok, no more boy talk! It's depressing me!" she swoops in and immediately changes the subject and I let out a sigh of relief and send her a grateful smile.

After another hour or so of gossiping and laughing with my girls, my phone vibrates and my stomach starts to flutter with nerves when I see that I have a text from Damon.

_**Done**_

Done? That's all he's going to tell me?

I frown before texting back.

_**Care to elaborate? xxx**_

It doesn't take him long to reply.

_**I told Stefan**_

I'm guessing by his short replies that it did not go well and I quickly excuse myself and walk into the empty bathroom, hitting the call button on my phone and groan in frustration when it rings out to voicemail.

"Damn it, Damon." I mutter under my breath before redialing, and again it goes to voicemail.

_**Are you going to keep ignoring my calls?**_

I decide if he doesn't want to speak to me the least he can do is reply to my texts. I stand anxiously in the bathroom as I wait to see if he will reply and time seems to move twice as long.

_**I think it's best if you don't speak to me  
tonight, im not in the best of moods.**_

I sigh and before again hitting the call button, not caring what kind of mood he is, I need to hear his voice and hear that he is ok. I'm guessing that the 'Stefan' talk really didn't go well.

"_Elena…_" he answers and I can hear the annoyance in his voice but I'm just glad that he finally picked up.

"Where are you?" I ask impatiently.

"_Baby, I'll just see you tomorrow ok? I promise, I'm fine."_

"Damon." I say his name firmly "Tell me where you are."

He stays silent for a moment and I hold my breath anxiously in waiting before he eventually replies.

"_At our bar_." He mumbles out before hanging up and I let out a sigh of relief before quickly leaving the bathroom and walking towards my booth.

"Hey sorry, I gotta go!" I quickly grab my jacket and bag and ignore their protests before practically running out of The Grill.

It doesn't take me too long to drive to my destination and the second I walk in I see Damon slumped on a stool at the bar, a tumbler of whiskey in his hands as he stares down at it lost in thought.

I slowly approach him and wrap my arms around his shoulders from behind, my hands stroking his chest and lean up to press a kiss against the side of his neck. "Hey." I mumble against his skin and let out a breath of relief I didn't even realize I was holding when he holds onto my hands and squeezes them tightly.

"Hi." He mumbles quietly back and I pull my arms away and walk around the stool and place myself between him and the bar in between his legs. "You didn't have to come here, you should be enjoying your night with your friends." He looks guilty but I immediately shake my head.

"You know there is nowhere else I would rather be." I tell him firmly and sincerely and step closer and wrap my arms around his neck, Damon's hands resting on my hips as he pulls me even closer.

"I'm sorry for being a jackass, I didn't mean to take it out on you." He looks at me regretfully but I just lean down and kiss him slowly on the lips.

"I'm guessing he didn't take it well?" I ask cautiously after pulling away and Damon lets out a dry laugh.

"Believe it or not, he took it better than expected…there was no temper tantrums or tears, in fact, he wasn't even as angry as I thought he was going to be." I frown, a little confused by this and wait for Damon to continue, my fingers playing with the bottom of his hairs on the back of his neck. "In fact, he seemed quite confident that you're just going through a rebellious phase and that the two of you will be reunited just in time to be crowned Prom King and Queen."

"That's ridiculous." I mutter angrily "You know that's never going to happen, _he_ should know that's never going to happen!" Damon shrugs and looks away and now I'm angry for another reason. "Damon?!" I place my hands on his cheeks and bring his head back around to face me "You _know_ that's not true, right?"

He shrugs a little, his hands loosening on my waist but they still remain in place. "What if you eventually realize how wrong I am for you? Stefan's right, I don't deserve you, I'll never deserve you. I've done so many bad things in the past, Elena, my karma is…ridiculous. Bad things happen to bad people and I'm just afraid that if you stay with me, some of it might rub off on you…"

"Now you're the one being ridiculous!" I look at him in disbelief "You aren't a bad person, Damon! I _know_ you, I _love_ you! You're not wrong for me and I'm very capable of making my own decisions. I know what I want and I want _you_, not your idiot of a brother who I would like to have a serious word with right now, but _you_, Damon Salvatore, you. Even if I do think you are acting like a complete dumbass right now."

He chuckles slightly and I feel calmed that he seems to be moving out of his slump "I'm sorry for acting like a dumbass." He offers and I grin and run my thumbs across his jawline.

"Apology accepted." I lean down and kiss him and he wraps his arms around me, one of his hands falling down to grip my butt and I moan into the kiss and hold on tightly to his sweatshirt. I reluctantly pull away and lean my forehead against his, breathless, trying to control myself as Damon starts to let his hands wonder. "Stop it," I whisper against him but my voice gives me away as one of his hands squeezes my breast and I close my eyes and let out a satisfied whimper. "We're in public."

"I can't resist you." Damon starts to press open mouthed kisses against my neck and my eyes flutter shut and I grip onto his sweatshirt tighter. He brings his lips to my ear and whispers "Have you ever had sex in a public place before?" I feel him smirk against me and I shake my head to say no. "Good." He stands up and grabs my hand before pulling me through the dimly lit bar towards the restroom and I realize that my life is never going to be boring with Damon Salvatore by my side.

* * *

**Big thank you to those of you reviewed the last chapter and made me feel better about it! Hope this one was better and luckily it didn't take me as long to update! **

**Until next time :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire ****diaries**.

* * *

I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen stifling a yawn and watch as Aunt Jenna cooks us breakfast, Jeremy sat at the table reading a comic book. Let's just say I had yet another late night last night. After Damon and mines antics in the bar, we quickly made our way back to Mystic Falls and straight back into my bed and it took a lot of restraint to get him to leave this morning.

But I promised Caroline I would be at the towns square nice and early to help set up the carnival.

"Um, Aunt Jenna, I need to tell you something." I take a deep nervous breath and sit on one of the stools at the counter.

"Sure, Elena," she tells me distractedly as she stirs some mix in a bowl.

"Ok, I'm just gonna go out and say it…" I say determinedly "I'm dating Damon Salvatore."

I watch as her entire body freezes and turns around and looks at me warily "Damon Salvatore? As in _Damon Salvatore_?"

"Yes?"

I watch as she sighs and puts down the bowls and looks across at me "I guess I can't say I'm _that_ surprised, you two have seemed pretty close for a while now." She shrugs a little and I can feel the relief cross my body "Does Stefan know?"

I nod my head "Yeah, Damon told him last night."

"And how did he take it?"

I shrug "He was an ass to Damon, said a lot of crap that wasn't true about me and him."

"Surely you can understand why he'd be upset though, Elena?"

"Well yeah of course, doesn't mean he needs to be a jerk. We broke up a while back now, it's been two months." I defend myself "Can we please not talk about Stefan?" I ask standing up and grabbing a bottle of juice from the fridge. "I'm sure I'm going to hear enough at school about how I'm dating my ex-boyfriends brother; I don't need it at home too."

"I know, I know! I'm sorry; I'll go back to being the cool fun Aunt!" She holds her hands up in defensive with a small grin growing on her lips and I laugh quietly.

"Thanks!" I reply just as my cellphone starts ringing. "It's Caroline." I mumble under my breath before quickly grabbing my purse "I'm late, I'll see you tonight at the carnival?"

"You sure will," she waves me off "See you tonight!"

* * *

A few hours later I'm stood outside watching amused as Caroline run around firing out instructions to anyone in sight. The carnival opens in just two hours, all the rides have been set up and safety checked, most of the stands are ready but there are still some last minute additions and changes that need to be made.

"Mrs Lockwood, Miss Forbes, I come with assistance." I turn around to see Giuseppe Salvatore walking towards him with Stefan by his side and Damon trailing behind. Neither of the boys look happy, and my heart starts pounding when I realise that this will be the first time I'll come face to face with Stefan since he knows about me and Damon.

I notice Caroline eye me hesitantly as they get closer and she side steps towards me "You can make a quick escape if you want." She mumbles under her breath but I shake my head. This had to happen sometime, right?

I let it slip to Caroline earlier on today about Damon and me, I can't say that she was pleased, in fact, she was pissed. She hates Damon and doesn't understand why I don't. I reminded her that she had a crush on him not so long ago and she replied saying _"Yes but that was before I found out what a psychotic royal jackass he is."_

I responded with some not so nice words myself and for the sake of our friendship we agreed to disagree but I have a feeling that it won't be the last I hear from my best friend about this.

"Better late than never I suppose!" Carol replies as they stop in front of us and I avoid Stefan's eyes to look over at Damon who is smirking at me. I blush slightly and look down to the ground nervously and curse myself for acting like a stupid schoolgirl with a crush. "Stefan, be a dear and go and help Matt set those tables over there." She orders him and Stefan mutters something under his breath before doing so.

"Ignore him Carol," Giuseppe apologises on behalf of his son, probably not used to it being Stefan he needs to speak for. "He's been in a bad mood all day."

"I wonder why." Caroline mutters beside me and I stick my elbow out and nudge her in annoyance.

"Anything you would like me to do Mrs Lockwood?" Damon speaks up with a sickly sweet smile and I look at him suspiciously as he steps closer to her and looks at her like she is the only one there.

Carol glances at him surprised but doesn't hesitate to answer and I swear I can hear nerves in her voice. "Sure Damon, why don't you go and help Tyler carry those boxes, he's been moaning about doing it on his own all afternoon!"

"Of course Mrs Lockwood, you know I would do anything to help _you_." He grins at me and I watch in astonishment that she actually _blushes_, a middle aged _married_ woman who has a _son_ almost the same age as him, goes all giddy because of my boyfriend!

Giuseppe rolls his eyes and walks away without another word and Damon brushes past me with a wink before grabbing my hand and pulling me along with him, ignoring Caroline's protests that I need to help her with decorations.

"That was very _smooth_ of you." I roll my eyes amused and Damon laughs and pulls me off to the side before pinning me against the wall of the side of The Grill. He places his hands on either side of my face, pressing his body against mine and I look at him expectantly. "Imagining I'm Mrs Lockwood are you?" I ask with a smirk and he chuckles and dips his head down so our lips are almost touching.

"It pisses my Dad off so much when I charm important people in this town, I think he secretly wants them all to hate me." He grins evilly and I look up at him amused and shake my head.

"You are trouble, Damon Salvatore." I tell him purposely as I wrap my fingers through his belt hoops of his jeans.

"I know." He smirks before pressing his mouth against mine in a searing kiss. One of his hands runs down my side and I gasp against his mouth as he slips the other one underneath my jacket and top, massaging my skin.

"Oh wow, um ok!" I immediately pull away from Damon and turn my head to the side and I swear my face turns beetroot red when I see that my Uncle John is standing there awkwardly.

Damon quickly pulls his hands from underneath my top but only to wrap his arm around my waist as I stand up straight from the wall and hurriedly smooth myself out.

This is so embarrassing.

"Hi Uncle John." I greet with a grimace and watch as he looks between Damon and me cautiously.

"Elena…"

"Hey, I'm Damon." Damon reaches out his arm to shake his hand but my Uncle John just stares at it with a frown on his face and looks at my boyfriend unimpressed.

"I know who you are, son." He says in a cold tone and I glare at him as Damon lets his arm fall back down to his side and rolls his eyes.

"Of course you do, we met at the Lockwood Christmas party last year, right? Good to know I am memorable." I can tell that my boyfriend knows fine well that this isn't the reason that John knows who he is but I'm thankful that he's not acting in an angry way at my Uncle's snub.

John just glares at him for a moment before turning his attention back on me. "Elena, can I talk to you in private for a moment?" he asks but the tone of his voice makes me know it's not a question.

Too bad I don't appreciate the way he was just rude to my boyfriend.

"Can't, I'm busy." I snap at him icily and step away from Damon so I can take a hold of his hand, linking our fingers together. "Maybe come and ask me again when you've learnt some manners!" I walk away, Damon laughing loudly behind me as I pull him along.

"See ya later Johnny boy!" he calls behind him and I just know my uncle will _hate_ that.

* * *

I think it's safe to say that when Elena and I walk into the carnival hand in hand that the whole town knows we are together.

A lot of eyes are on us as we walk through the entrance and pay for our ticket, mostly its people from school but there are a few older sets of eyes watching us too. Small town gossip is something we are both used to however, it really doesn't bother me and I'm pretty sure it doesn't bother my girlfriend either.

I pay for our tickets and walk in, my hand holding onto Elena's tightly as we walk through the crowds and she immediately drags me to a stand. "Wanna play?" she asks me with bright eyes and normally I'd decline but she looks so excited that I can't say no.

"Sure." I hand a note to the guy on the stand and pass one of the three hoops given to Elena and watch as she throws one and it just bounces back off the top of one of the many glass bottles.

She pouts and turns to face me and I smile amused and pass her another one. "You do know people never actually win these things, right?" I ask her with a grin as she yet again messes.

"And you can?" she challenges me motioning to the last hoop in my hand that I was just holding for her. "Go for it Salvatore, let's see what you can do! Win me a prize!"

"Fine," I twirl the hoop in my hand for a second before aiming for a bottle and watch as just like Elena's attempts, it bounces off the tip and I lose.

"HA!" Elena bounces on her feet amused and I roll my eyes and grab her hips and pull her towards me.

"Good to know your shot sucks, Salvatore. Unlike mine." I turn around to see Alaric and Jenna walking towards us, Jenna with a stuffed animal in her hands and I'm guessing he won it for her and I decide to make it my mission to win an even bigger one for Elena.

"Yeah well you've had a lot of _years_' worth of practise over me, old man." I fire back with a smirk and Elena giggles beside me wrapping her arm around my waist and snuggling into my hoody.

"Hi Aunt Jenna, Ric." She greets them and I watch as her Aunt eyes me up for a moment before speaking.

"Elena…Damon." She looks at me sceptically and I hope for Elena's sake that I won't be getting the same reception from her aunt than I did from her uncle because I know how much her family means to her, especially Jenna. At least Jeremy is cool with us. "What are the two of you doing tomorrow?" she speaks up after a couple of seconds of an awkward silence.

Elena shrugs a little "We have nothing in particular planned?" she looks up at me and I shake my head.

"Great, Damon why don't you come round to our house for dinner." She offers me and I look across at her surprised.

"Uh, um yeah." I stutter out nervously before finally getting my head straight "Sure, of course, thank you Jenna." I smile at her politely and I notice that both Ric and Elena are smirking in amusement.

"Great," Jenna smiles and loops her arm through Rics. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She turns to walk away "See you at home, Elena."

"Bye." Elena waves her off before turning around to face me, standing in front of me and placing her hands on my chest "Not so smooth now are you Mr Salvatore!" she grins.

"Shut up!" I mockingly glare at her before leaning down and kissing her. She smiles into my kiss before eventually pulling away and shivering slightly. "You cold?" I ask her and she nods her head and I immediately pull off my hat and place it onto her head. She looks up at me, a small smile on her face and her eyes glistening bright.

"Thanks," she reaches her hands up and repositions the hat so it's comfortable "Much better."

"It suits you more than me anyway." I shrug casually and I watch as her eyes travel past me.

"There's Caroline and Bonnie," she tells me and I turn around to see the two of them stood by one of the food stands and back to her. "Wanna go over?"

"You go," I smile down at her, knowing that I don't want to be pushing my luck with blondie any time soon. "I saw Tyler and some of the boys near the rides; I'll go hang with them for a bit."

"Are you sure?" she asks hesitantly "I don't mind staying with you."

"Go, have some fun with your friends, I'll come find you in a bit." I tell her firmly and lean down and kiss her quickly and she smiles widely at me before skipping off towards them.

I watch her go with a smile on her face and wait till she gets to them before pulling my hood over my head and go to find them.

It doesn't take me long to find them hiding behind one of the fair rides that have been set up and I immediately greet them with fist bumps.

"Kol and his gang are here." Tyler informs me and I nod my head not really that surprised. It is a town event after all, even if it was Tyler's family who organised it.

"I say we corner them when we least expect it, give them some payback from when they jumped you the other week." Shaun, one of the guys, speaks up but I immediately shake my head.

Elena wouldn't like that.

"How about we just humiliate them without getting ourselves into trouble? Keep it simple." I suggest and notice that some of the boys don't seem too happy about that but Tyler looks at me intrigued.

"What do you have in mind?"

About fifteen minutes later I smirk when I see Kol and two of his friends walking towards the bumper carts and I make sure we all stand back as they each get into their own cars.

I notice that no one else seems to be in the queue so we quickly walk across the boundary and jump into a car of our own and I watch as Kol looks around a little panicked when he realises he's outnumbered.

He goes to stand up out of the car but the loud buzzer rings and we start moving, my foot straight into the accelerator and I crash straight into the side of his car causing him to spin around a full 360.

I howl with laughter and reverse away and make my way back around the track. The guy in the control booth shouting at us through the speakers to stick to the one way system.

* * *

I'm walking through the carnival with Caroline, Bonnie and Matt, making our way through different stands and rides and I glance down at my phone to see that I have no texts or calls from Damon and I'm starting to feel anxious to get back to him, wondering where he has got too.

Is it bad that I've only been with my friends for 20 minutes and I already want to get back to my boyfriend?

We notice a small crowd of our high school peers gathering around the bumper carts and walk over to see what is going on, it's not until I see Tyler Lockwood smash his car into one of Kol's friends when I realise what's going on and it doesn't take me long to spot Damon.

"Oh, this should be good!" Matt chuckles excitedly beside me as we walk closer but I can't help but feel a little concerned when I see Kol crash into Damon and my boyfriend hits his face against the steering wheel. He doesn't seem affected by it though and he soon regains control of his car and goes chasing back after Kol.

"Boys take it easy!" The guy who runs the ride speaks through the microphone but no one listens.

I realise that Damon and his friends have outnumbered them and they are crashing into them full force at any given moment, and this is definitely more than about who is the better bumper cart driver. There is real aggression and violence in the way they crash into each other and I should be a little annoyed that my boyfriend is taking part in this, but as I watch him crash into Kol and the youngest Mikaelson hits his head off the wheel just like Damon did earlier, and groans loudly in pain, it makes me laugh.

The smirk on Damon's face as he howls with laughter and spins around to drive away makes my stomach flutter with butterflies because it's so nice to see him actually enjoying himself.

"Shouldn't someone be stopping this!" Caroline huffs beside me, not happy that they hijacked a ride and are causing trouble on it, rather than obeying the rules. I guess she did put some effort in to organising this and she probably doesn't want anything to kick off, which I'm sure she is afraid will happen as soon as they are finished and are back on two feet, fists available and ready to use and I hope for Damon's sake more than hers that that won't happen.

I watch as she marches over to the control stand, shouting words I can barely keep up with and she must get her away because all the cars roll to a stop.

Damon's car luckily happens to stop right next to where I'm standing and he hops out and jumps off the ring and greets me with a kiss I wasn't expecting.

I pull away breathlessly, totally forgetting about Matt and Bonnie who are stood beside me and wrap my arms around his neck. "What was that for?"

He shrugs "I just wanted to kiss you." He says simply but we are interrupting by shouting and I look over Damon's shoulder to see that the rest of the boys are still in the rink, arguing and in each other's face.

I notice then that Kol has a bloody nose and I turn back to Damon and raise my eyebrow in question.

"Oops, I may have drove into him a little hard once or twice." He shrugs innocently and I laugh and shake my head just as Kol looks in our direction and pushes Tyler away from him and storms over. "Uh oh…" Damon grins as Kol jumps down from the ring and approaches us. "You have a little something on your face…" he reaches his hand up as if to go clean it up but Kol just swats his hand out of the hard and Damon mockingly pouts at him.

"You ambushed us!" Kol accuses him and pushes Damon backwards slightly just as Carol Lockwood walks over seeing the commotion that is about to start.

"What is going on here boys?"

Damon looks at Kol with a smirk before glancing at me in fake astonishment. "I just thought we were having a friendly game on the bumper carts, you saw that right?" he asks me. "It was friendly?"

"It looked pretty innocent to me." I shrug and Damon grins before looking back at Kol who is fuming.

He turns to Carol and points to his face. "Look at this! He made me bleed!"

"It's just a little blood, come on, don't spit your dummy out. You're embarrassing yourself." Damon says calmly and I can hear the mocking in his tone but it only seems obvious to myself and Kol.

Kol takes a threatening step forward and Damon takes one himself immediately so they are standing in each other's faces, neither of them willing to back down but luckily Carol manages to step in between them.

"Ok boys, it got a little out of hand but it's over now, why don't you just go on your separate ways." She tells them sternly and Damon shrugs and takes a step back, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm happy to do that, I didn't think there was even a problem." The innocent look he is portraying on his face is making it really hard to control my laughter, especially at the irritated look on Kol's face right now.

"Kol?" Carol urges him to walk away and he huffs and curses under his breath before sulking off, Carol also leaving.

I shake my head at Damon amused. "You're such a trouble maker."

He shrugs and flicks his finger against my nose before pulling on my hand. "Excuse us," he finally acknowledges Bonnie and Matt "I have a stupid ridiculously sized stuffed bear to win for my girlfriend."

* * *

Damon succeeded in winning me a prize, and I think he took extra pride and joy that he won it by winning on the high striker, the smug arrogant look on his face when the weight reached the top of the pole didn't even cover how smug _I_ felt that he did it. Especially when I noticed people from school watching with envy. Snotty girls from school who I disliked were impressed but then turned jealous when they realized that Damon and I were together.

"There you go, princess." Damon passes me a large stuffed Panda and I grin happily and take it from his hands.

"Thank you, thank you!" I say excitedly and reach up to press a quick kiss to his lips.

"You should be lucky that you have such a strong handsome boyfriend to win you these kinds of things," he informs me cockily as he wraps an arm around my shoulders as we walk through the fair. "What are you going to name him?"

"Her." I correct him but he just rolls his eyes and I think for a moment before answering. "Panda."

"What?" he scoffs and looks at me in disbelief "You can't call a stuffed panda, _Panda_. That's ridiculous!"

"No it's not, it's cute!" I defend myself.

"No, _you're_ cute." He presses a kiss to the side of my head as we walk and I blush just like I always do every time he compliments me.

"Can we go on the Ferris wheel now?" I ask excitedly and I watch as he sighs loudly before nodding his head. "Yes!" I grab a hold of his hand and drag him along, my panda still under my other arm as we stand in the queue.

"Sorry darling, you can't take that on there." The controller tells us and I pout a little before handing Panda over to him as he puts it to the side in safe place. Damon helps me into the cart before sitting next to me and I immediately shiver from the cold night air as the cart starts to slowly move.

Damon wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me against him and I sigh contently because this moment really is perfect.

"I love you." I tell him quietly because it feels like the perfect moment to say it and I turn my head to watch him look at me with pure adoration in his eyes and it makes me feel like the most important person on the planet.

"I know," he smiles softly down at me and pushes some hair out of my face that has fallen from his hat that is still on my head "I love you too."

"Good." I look at him satisfied and watch as he removes his arm to pull his hoody off from him so he is left in just a thin sweatshirt. "What are you doing? You'll be cold!"

"Ssh." He smirks at me and covers his hoody over our legs, operating as a blanket and he places his arm back around me and pulls me even closer as the wheel stops while other people get on it.

His other hand trails up my thigh underneath his hoody and I gasp as he unbuttons the top of my jeans. "Damon," I stutter out "What are you doing?"

He doesn't answer, instead he gives me a devilish smile and presses his mouth against mine and I can't do anything but respond to the kiss, my hands grabbing onto his head, my fingers getting tangled in his hair.

I moan against his lips as his hand slips inside of my jeans and cups me before slipping his fingers inside of my panties, causing me to gasp and pull away from his lips. I dig my head against his shoulder, moving one of my hands to grip onto his back tightly as he starts to pump two of his fingers inside of me as the cart starts to move again.

"God!" I pant into his shoulder before lifting my head to press open mouthed kisses up his neck and along his jaw. "Don't stop."

"I wasn't planning on it," his voice is heavy as his fingers continue to thrust in and out in a steady pace and his other arm holds onto my waist tightly as I push myself further onto his hand, our cart rocking slightly. "Come on baby, come for me." He whispers into my ear and I shiver.

"I'm almost there," I breathe out in between gasps and it's not long until my orgasm hits me and I'm left slumped against him trying to catch my breath.

Damon chuckles softly before slowly removing his fingers from inside of me and wiping them onto his hoody. I lift up my head and press a tired slow kiss against his mouth.

"Mm." Damon mumbles against my lips and pulls away and motions for me to look around. "Elena, we're at the top."

I smile widely and lean my head against his shoulder, taking in the bright lights of Mystic Falls. "It looks beautiful from up here."

"It does." Damon agrees with me and runs his hand up and down my side.

As the cart starts to move again I gather my thoughts and think about what stunt he just pulled, before shaking my head with a disbelieved smile. "You, Damon Salvatore, are the devil."

"I know." He smirks at me before pressing his mouth against mine and I don't do anything to stop him.

This boy will be the death of me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**So Elena got a little more than just a simple ride on the Ferris Wheel with Damon! Hope you liked it! **

**Thanks to everyone who responded to the last chapter, it helped me finish this one and get it posted tonight! **

**I wrote a little one-shot called Until Death that I think I am going to continue, it would be great if you checked it out! It's set after 4x09.**

**Until next time :) **


	21. Chapter 21

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire ****diaries**.

**Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had a great day and didn't eat too much turkey like I did :) here's my gift to you all, hope you like it!**

* * *

"Mmm, stop it," I mumble against Damon's lips as he presses his mouth against mine in another searing kiss "We're going to be late…"

Damon pins his body further against mine, pinning my entire body against my locker as the second bell rings signalling the start of class. I cling onto his sweater tightly as he pulls away and starts pressing open mouthed kisses down my neck. "It's only health class, we're healthy enough." He mumbles against my neck and I giggle at the sensation and wrap one of my hands in his hair and bring his head back up to mine and kiss him.

He's right. We're healthy. So, _so_ healthy.

I run my hand down Damon's back and grab onto his ass causing him to groan against my lips, a hand running up my side.

"Um shouldn't you two be in class!" I push Damon off me at the familiar voice and turn my head to the side guiltily to find an unimpressed looking Alaric standing a few feet away across the hall.

"Sorry, Ric." I mumble awkwardly and watch as Damon huffs in frustration and takes a step back.

I watch as Alaric rolls his eyes slightly and walks towards us "You're lucky it was me who found you, you both could get in trouble for public displays like that!"

I feel my cheeks burning red with embarrassment and look at Damon who barely seems fazed; he just seems annoyed to be interrupted.

"Well don't just stand there! Get to class!" Alaric urges us and I send him another apologetic glance before grabbing my bag from the floor. "You too, Damon!"

"Of course, Mr Saltzman." Damon rolls his eyes but there is a linger of a smile on his lips and he grabs my hand and pulls me along the corridor. We turn the corner and I'm about to walk towards our classroom but Damon keeps on walking, his hand gripping mine tightly and pulling me along with him.

"Damon what-"

"Like I said before, Elena." He turns his head to face me and smiles cheekily "I think we're healthy enough." He pushes open the janitor's closet and pulls me inside, locking the door behind us.

"You can't be serious?" I ask in astonishment.

"Why not?" he smirks at me before reaching his arms out and grabbing my hips, pulling me against him.

"Um we could get caught…and then suspended!" I point out but gasp as he starts to press kisses against my neck, his teeth grazing against it slightly causing me to shiver. "Damon." I close my eyes, willing him to stop but knowing I don't actually want him too. "Urgh, fine!" I give in and push his head away from mine and grab the end of his sweater and pull it over his head revealing his bare chest. "But if we get caught, I'm blaming it all on you!" I warn him before crashing my lips against his.

* * *

"Elena!" I turn around in the hallway just in time to see Caroline and Bonnie walking quickly towards me. "There you are, you've been AWOL all day!"

"Sorry," I try to hide my smirk when I remember the reasons I have skipped my full morning of classes. After our _experiment_ in the janitors closet, Damon insisted we broaden our horizons and see where else can do it without getting caught. Of course that led to us finding an empty classroom, the weights room in the gym and the showers in the girl's locker room. To say I have had a productive morning would be an understatement but it's all part of the fun and danger of dating Damon Salvatore and I love it almost as much as I love him.

"I had lots of homework to catch up on…" the lie rolls off my tongue far too easily.

"We've barely seen you these past couple of weeks," Bonnie frowns slightly "We miss you."

"Yeah, especially since you quit the cheerleading squad!" Caroline huffs and I cringe slightly. A couple of weeks ago I finally decided to just bite the bullet and quit the squad once and for all, I explained to Caroline that I just wasn't enjoying it anymore and that it wasn't for me. She was upset, of course, but she got over it, or at least I thought she did. "We barely see you anymore, Elena! You're always with Damon!"

"He's my boyfriend," I defend myself immediately "Of course I'm going to spend most of my time with him."

"Well when you were dating Stefan you still found time for us," Caroline tells me in annoyance and I don't know how to explain that when I was Stefan there wasn't a physical push inside of me to want to spend every waking moment with him like there is with Damon.

"Look I'm sorry, I've been busy but I promise we can hang out sometime this week, or the weekend?" I offer up but I can tell she's not happy.

"She's in her honeymoon period," Bonnie tries to act reasonable and I'm grateful. "I understand, Elena." She offers me a smile and I return it. "But I still miss you."

I start to feel guilty because they do have a point. For the past few weeks since Damon and I got together, publicly, I have barely spent any time with my friends. Most nights after school Damon and I usually hang out all night and then we spend the weekend together too. We have been living in our own little bubble recently and as much as I don't want to leave it, reality is calling.

"Ok, why don't we all go to my parent's lake house this weekend?" I suggest and I watch as Caroline's eyes light up with excitement. "It'll be great for everyone to hang out all together again plus it will give you both a chance to get to know Damon."

I watch as the smile falls from Caroline's face. "Seriously Elena? You're going to invite Damon?" she asks me in disbelief.

"He's my boyfriend, Care, he's a big part of my life and I love him. The sooner you get used to that the better, I know you don't like him but that's because you don't know him. Do you think it makes me happy to know that you guys don't like him? It doesn't."

Caroline goes to argue but Bonnie places her hand on her arm to stop her and turns to face me with a smile. "Well I think it's a good idea, Elena." She tells me with a nod. "You're right; we haven't really given Damon a fair chance."

"Thank you." I reply gratefully.

"Who else are we inviting?" Caroline asks and I'm just thankful she's dropped the whole Damon thing for now.

I shrug. "Matt? I'll ask Jeremy too and he can bring Anna."

"What about Stefan?" Caroline questions and I cringe slightly. "Oh come on, Elena! He wants to be your friend; don't you think you've hurt him enough by dating his brother? Imagine how he's going to feel if you've invited the entire gang on this trip except for him? He hasn't done anything wrong here."

I guess she has a point. "Fine," I sigh giving in "You can invite Stefan." I tell her reluctantly, knowing that Damon will not be happy about this. "But will you promise to make an effort to get to know Damon?"

I watch as Caroline huffs a little before reluctantly giving in. "Fine, I promise to not be so judgmental towards him."

"Thank you!"

"Great," Bonnie grins "So do you want to go and get lunch?" she asks and I immediately cringe. "Ah, you have plans with Damon?"

"Sorry, I promised to look over college applications with him and Mr Saltzman." I tell them apologetically "But I'll see you in Math later? We can discuss the weekend." I tell her before quickly saying my goodbyes and leaving.

* * *

"Hey, there you are," I smile at Elena when she rushes into Alaric's classroom. I stand up and walk towards her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her against me to kiss her. "Mm, where you been?"

"Sorry," she leans up and kisses me quickly again "Got caught up with Bonnie and Caroline." She looks around while pulling out of my grasp to put her bag down on a desk. "Where's Ric?"

"Bathroom break, coffee break, whatever he said..." I explain, watching as she pulls out some college brochures from her bag and I immediately frown. "Do we really have to do this?"

"You promised, Damon." She tells me pointedly and I groan and look at her with a pout.

"But I can think of so much more better things we can be doing than this…" I reach out to grab her hips but she swats my hands away and shakes her head.

"Nah uh, don't even bother trying, Salvatore! We're doing this whether you like it or not, you promised."

"Fine," I huff just as the door opens and Ric walks in with a mug of steaming coffee in his hands.

"He still moaning?" he asks Elena with a smirk and I roll my eyes before sitting down "Ah come on, Damon, I promise this won't be anything painful, we're just going to look into some colleges and discuss your options, that sorta thing." He explains while leaning against his desk, Elena pulling up a chair next to me and placing the booklets, brochures and pamphlets on the table in front of me. "Is there anywhere in particular you've thought about going?"

I shrug with a frown because I have never really thought that much into college.

"Ok…" Alaric tries again "Do you want to stay in the state?"

I glance at Elena who is looking at me expectantly "I uh, I don't know." I mumble out awkwardly, starting to feel really out of my depth here.

"Hey it's ok," she reaches out and runs her hand along my arm. "You don't have to make a solid decision anytime soon, just throw some ideas about."

"Ok…" I muse to myself for a moment. "I've always enjoyed New York."

"New York huh?" Alaric nods his head thoughtfully "You thought about applying to NYU? I think if you work hard for the remaining of the year, improve your attendance and make sure there are no more…_setbacks,_" he tells be purposefully "Then it could be possible."

I glance at Elena again nervously who is smiling encouragingly "I mean that's just one place, right? There's California? I wouldn't complain about the weather there, and the beaches." I think about it "But then I could always just stay here in Virginia."

I look at Elena again, trying to work out which option she would prefer and then I realize like the idiot that I am that I haven't even asked where _she_ is thinking of applying too. Because honestly, if she'd let me, I'd go wherever she goes.

"Where are you going to apply too?"

"I'm thinking of applying to Columbia, Emory, and maybe Hollins if I want to stay in the state. I've looked at some more but I would prefer to stay on the east coast. Columbia is my first choice though, if I can get in." She admits honestly and I nod my head before turning back to Ric.

"You really think I could get into NYU?" I ask seriously.

"I don't see why not, Damon." He sounds sincere "You're a smart kid, your test scores are great, it's just your performance in day to day classes that let you down. Oh, and your behavior of course, but that _has_ improved."

"But would they really accept someone who has to retake their entire senior year?" I ask skeptically.

"If they know the circumstances of why you did, then yes, I'm sure they'd be reasonable. Plus, I would write you one hell of a reference." He grins and I let out a dry laugh.

We are interrupted by the ringtone of his cell and he quickly excuses himself from the room and I turn to look at Elena who is smiling widely.

"You want to go to NYU?" she asks excitedly and I shrug casually.

"Maybe?"

She almost squeals with excitement and it makes me laugh and I have to wonder yet again what I did to end up with such an amazing and stunning person like Elena.

"If you go to NYU, I could go to Columbia! We will be living in the same city!" My smile widens at her words and she wraps her arms around my neck and leans forward to kiss me. "Oh my god, this is so exciting!"

I chuckle and run my hand through her hair "I need to get in first…" I try to calm her down because I really don't want to get her hopes up.

"You'll get in! I'll make sure of it! Besides, you heard Ric; he's going to write you a kick ass reference! All you need to do is study really hard for our finals and get the scores I know you can get and you'll get in."

"Why are you so confident that I can do this?" I ask her seriously.

"_Because_, Damon, I know you." She tells me firmly with a sweet smile on her face "I believe in you and I know you can do this!" she places her hands on each side of my face before pressing a slow kiss against my lips.

I reluctantly pull away when I hear the door open and look up to see Alaric walk back in, a smirk on his face when he realizes he just interrupted us. "Oh hey, don't mind me! It's only my classroom!"

I roll my eyes and lean back against my chair, Elena doing the same and I pick up one of the many brochures Elena brought with her. "Now I just need to decide what to major in then." I muse as Elena's words echo around my head.

If it means both Elena and I being together in New York in September, then I will do everything I can to get there.

* * *

I walk into The Grill with my hand wrapped tightly in Damon's, noticing that it's pretty busy and this probably wasn't the best place to bring him to break the news about the lake house trip at the weekend. I figured I best tell him today before he hears it from someone else, and I just know how much satisfaction Stefan would probably get from mentioning it to Damon and finding out he doesn't even know.

"Go find us a table I'll go get us some drinks," Damon mumbles into my ear but I immediately shake my head.

"No, no, tonight is on me." I tell him with a smile and watch him look down confused "What?" I ask innocently "I can't treat my boyfriend to dinner?"

"Fine, fine," he holds his hands up in defense with a smile before kissing my forehead and wondering off to find a table.

I go to walk towards the bar to get us some drinks but I Matt steps in front of me. "Hey, don't worry about that I'll get drinks for you." He offers kindly.

"Oh, thanks Matt." I smile gratefully. "Busy tonight, huh?"

"Yeah, always like this around this time of day though." He shrugs before continuing "Caroline mentioned the lake house this weekend? I spoke to my boss and I've got the weekend off so I'm up for it!"

"Brilliant," I smile and glance back at Damon who is sat flipping through the menu "Do you know if Stefan…?"

"He said he'll think about it," Matt smiles sympathetically at me. "Caroline is pushing him to come though."

I sigh and roll my eyes "I thought as much."

"What does Damon think about it?"

"He kind of doesn't know about it yet…" I trail awkwardly "I'm going to break it to him now."

"Ahh, I see." Matt smiles "Well, I best let you get on with it then, I'll be over in a minute with some drinks."

"Thanks," I wave a little before turning around and walking to the booth, sliding in next to Damon who immediately wraps his arm around me. "Matt is coming to bring our drinks over," I explain and he nods his head before looking back at the menu, moving it along so I can share it with him, the thought of just reaching over and picking up another one to look at for myself never even entering our minds.

Matt soon comes over with our drinks and we order our main course before we start talking about random things and I realize that I'm letting myself get distracted.

Maybe I should tell him after we eat?

"Elena!"

I turn my head in my seat to see Caroline walking towards us with Stefan trailing slowly behind looking unhappy. Great.

I glance back at Damon nervously, because if Caroline breaks the news about Stefan coming right now, he is not going to be happy with me.

Why is her timing always so freakin awful?

"Can we join you? It's too busy in here and we can't find a table." She says without really asking as she slides into the booth anyway, a reluctant Stefan following.

"Actually we're kind of in the middle of something…" I trail hesitantly but I'm surprised when it's Damon who speaks up.

"No it's ok, join us." he forces a smile.

"Thanks," Caroline eyes him for a second before turning her attention back on me and I try my hardest to communicate with her through my eyes but she doesn't seem to be getting it.

"How's it going, brother?" Damon starts up conversation and looks at Stefan who leans his elbow on the table and sends a fake smile back.

"Oh you know, _perfect_." He hits back with a cold tone despite the smile on his face.

"_Fantastic_."

Caroline starts talking to Stefan about what they should order and I turn to look at my boyfriend in annoyance.

"What?" he whispers at me innocently "I thought you'd be happy I was making an effort?"

"I am," I whisper back "Just not tonight…"

"Why not?" he asks confused and I shrug and turn my head away to watch as Stefan waves Matt over to come and take their orders and he tells us he will inform the kitchen to make sure that all our orders will come at the same time.

_Great_.

"So, we need to plan out the weekend!" Caroline begins loudly and I immediately groan.

"Not now Care…" I raise my eyebrows at her but she's just not getting it.

"Why not? We need to organize Whose cars are we taking? Stefan said he will take his." I guess that answers the 'is he coming?' question. "Are we going on the Friday after school or Saturday morning? Also someone needs to get alcohol! And enough to last us the whole weekend."

"What's happening this weekend?" Damon asks confused and I immediately cringe.

"The lake house?" Caroline looks at him as if he's stupid and he turns to face me expectantly.

"I was going to tell you…" I trail awkwardly and watch as a frown crosses on his face. "I was planning on mentioning it after dinner."

"Tell me what?"

"We're going to Elena's lake house this weekend." Stefan interrupts and I turn to glare at him, getting even more pissed off by the smirk on his face. "She didn't mention it? The _whole_ _gang_ is going, just like old times. We used to go there all the time back when Elena and I were dating, it was kinda _our_ place." He sneers and I groan because this is not turning out how I wanted it too and Stefan is just making things ten times worse!

Damon turns back to look at me expectantly and I immediately place my hand on his knee. "It was Caroline's idea; we thought it would be a chance for you to get to know everyone…"

"Oh so I was invited then?"

"Of course you were!"

I hear Stefan chuckle from across the table and I turn around to glare at him. "Will you stop it?!"

"What?" he asks innocently "I'm just amused that you seemed to have asked your ex-boyfriend to come before asking your current one." He shrugs. "Good to know you two know how to communicate but hey I can't blame you, I know that house has a lot of great memories between _us_." He looks back over at Damon. "It was there where she first told me she loved me, it was very romantic."

"Why do you have to be such an ass?" I hiss at him angrily.

"Oh maybe it has something to do with the fact you dumped me for my _brother_!" He hits back, his voice cold and bitter.

"Ok can we please not do this? I hate it when you two fight!" Caroline interrupts with a pout.

"We're going to fight, Caroline! We're broken up!"

"Don't take this out on me, Elena! I'm just trying to help!"

"No, you're trying to _interfere_!"

"Well someone needs to point out all the crappy decisions you have been making lately!"

"Here, here!"

"Shut up Stefan!"

"What? I'm sorry that I agree with Caroline. Sue me!"

"Why can't you both just back the hell off?! I'm happy! I've moved on!"

"Yeah, to _Damon Salvatore_!" Caroline sounds disgusted.

"Ok, I have two cheeseburgers, one with chili fries, and one without pickles…" Matt places down two plates on the table and we all snap our heads towards him quickly.

"Not now Matt!" Both Caroline and I snap at him at the same time and I watch as Matt realizes he's interrupted something and immediately goes to take a step back.

"No you know what," Damon speaks up for the first time in a little while and I hear the annoyance in his voice, "Now is perfect, Matt. But Stefan can have my meal, I'm suddenly not hungry. Let me out, Elena."

"What?" I ask shocked and turn my head to face him. "No." I shake my head with a frown. Is he seriously going to bail on me and leave me with these two? I know he's mad but if he'd just let me explain!

"Elena," he pushes me along the booth a little as he tries to get out but I don't move. "Let me out. I'm done with this teen drama."

"Damon!"

"That's my brother, always running away when there's a problem!" Stefan throws in a snide remark.

"One more word from you, _Stef_, and I'll make sure you don't play football for a month!" Damon snaps at him furiously before turning to look back at me. "Elena, let me out. _Now_."

"Fine," I huff and reluctantly slide out of the booth and onto my feet. I watch as Damon slides out right beside me and instead of storming away alone like I thought he would, he grabs a hold of my hand tightly and pulls me away from everyone and else, towards the exit.

"Damon what are you doing?!" I ask confused and try to pull my hand out of his grasp but he doesn't let go until we are outside. "Damon!"

He lets go of my hand and breathes out into the fresh air before turning around to face me "If I stayed in there for one more second I was _literally_ going to bang their heads together!"

I can't help but smile at the thought because they deserve it. "I thought you were going to leave me with them." I tell him honestly and watch as he lets out a dry laugh.

"Not gonna lie, the thought crossed my mind."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you! I was going too, I swear that I was but then they joined us and well, you know what happened after that."

"I know, Elena." Damon smiles softly at me and reaches out for my hand and pulls me closer to him. "I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" I ask surprised.

"Nope, I just wished I had a heads up that's all." He shrugs "It's not nice to be reminded that you were with Stefan first…but we can't rewrite the past, and I can't be mad at you for something that's already happened. So you dated my brother…I'm sure there have been weirder situations that have happened in people's lives." He offers.

"What he said about the lake house being our place? It's not true." I watch as Damon turns his head away but I immediately wrap my hands on his cheeks and pull him back to face me. "Sure, I may have told him I loved him there, and we went a lot of times when we were dating but everyone else came with us too, and besides, I know now that I was never _in_ love with Stefan. The lake house has so many more memories there than my ones with him, trust me! And I can't wait to make loads more with _you_." I stand up on my tip toes to kiss him softly and I'm relieved that he returns it. "I am _so_ in love with you Damon, I can't even function properly when we're apart." I move my hands through his hair. "You'll come, right?"

I watch nervously and hold my breath as he lets out a loud sigh before slowly nodding his head. "You know that I will, Elena."

I smile and kiss him again before falling back onto my feet, thankful when he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me in for a hug.

"I love you," he mumbles into my hair and I close my eyes feeling relieved and cling onto him tightly, content with being wrapped in his arms as he holds me tightly against him like I'm the most precious thing in the world.

I can't wait to make real memories with Damon, at the lake house and so many more places.

And unlike with Stefan, I hope these memories won't end and that we keep on making new ones and more new ones for the rest of our lives.

I don't care how young we are, and how we haven't even been dating that long, when you know you want to be with someone for the rest of your life, you just _know_.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! The next chapter will be them at the Lake House, some things coming up there... **

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapter, very much appreciated and I always look forward to reading them and seeing what you all have to say!**

**Oh and a quick question, would you prefer it if I started writing whose POV it is before each section or just keep it the way it is? I try to make it obvious whether it's from Damon or Elena but sometimes I do wonder if it can get confusing and if I should put a quick POV alert beforehand? Let me know please! :)**

**Until next time, and Merry Christmas! :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire****diaries**.

**I'm jumping straight into the deep end with this chapter! Hope you like it! **

* * *

"Damon! If you're not ready in five minutes we're going without you!" Stefan shouts from outside my bedroom after banging incessantly on my door. I roll my eyes before looking back down at my phone where I'm texting Elena, wondering why I managed to get myself roped into this.

_**Why cant we ride together  
again? Stefan drivin me  
crazy already and we  
haven't even left yet! X **_

I zip up my travel bag that I'm taking and swing the strap around my shoulder and leave my room, making sure my door is closed behind me and by the time I get down the stairs Elena has replied.

_**Caroline is insisting that  
us girls ride together so  
we can 'gossip' and talk  
about you boys! I wish  
we were together too,  
I miss you xox **_

I walk outside to see Stefan, Matt and Jeremy standing around Stefan's car and loading the truck, I greet them briefly before placing my bag into the trunk and slamming it shut.

"Is Lockwood not here yet?" I look around noticing my pals absence.

In an attempt to make this trip more appealing for me, Elena told me to invite Tyler along too, since he is also friends with Jeremy and gets along with Matt too. Apparently they used to play football together in middle school before Tyler went all rebellious.

"No, tell him to hurry his ass." Stefan complains in annoyance as he climbs in the driver's seat, leaving his door open.

"Ok Steffie, calm the fuck down. What is the rush? Scared we're gonna lose out on some credible hours in the hot tub?" I send him a fake smirk which he returns with a glare.

"I'd rather get there before it gets dark! Those country roads aren't fun to drive in at night!"

"Well maybe if you didn't drive like a pussy there wouldn't be a problem."

Stefan is about to jump out of his car but Matt interrupts us with impeccable timing as ever!

"Tyler just text, he says he's five minutes away. Will someone help me get these crates of beers in the trunk?" he looks at me and I grunt in annoyance before helping him, I've managed to sneak out some bourbon for myself, and a bottle of vodka for Elena from my Dad's stash, just something to get an extra kick from when the beer gets too stale!

"You two aren't going to argue this entire trip! Two hours is a long time to be stuck in a car with two bickering little bitches." Jeremy throws in and I send him a glare because he is one to talk about being a little bitch. I'm pretty sure he's Tyler's!

"What's with the attitude Gargamel? Did Anna confiscate your PlayStation?"

"You know, Damon, for someone who should be trying to impress me, you really aren't doing a very good job!" he fires back at me and I scrunch my eyebrows together and scowl at him.

"Why the hell would I be trying to impress _you _Gilbert?"

"Um maybe because you're dating my sister?" He asks me as if I'm stupid but really he's the stupid one.

"Yeah, your sister, not you!" I roll my eyes and Jeremy lets out a laugh just as Tyler's car finally pulls up in our driveway. "Hey Lockwood, chop chop, before Stefan slips into an anxiety coma, it's almost past his bedtime!" I do a mocking gasp as Stefan gives me the finger and slams his car door shut.

Tyler chuckles as he locks his car and walks towards us to pass his bag to Matt who throws it in the trunk before slamming it shut.

"I call shotgun!" Jeremy shouts loudly and literally runs around the car to sit up front.

Matt, Tyler and I climb into the backseat, Tyler squashed in the middle between us and I wonder how the fuck I got stuck here with these asshats when I could be squashed up against a much hotter, beautiful girl.

Which reminds me! I pull my cellphone out of my jean pockets to see another text from Elena. Ignoring the boys as they talk about football and argue over the latest game or whatever.

_**Please don't tell me Stefan  
has killed you already? xox **_

_**Not yet but im about to  
kick someones ass if they  
don't stop being idiots! I  
miss you more and your  
company. Why am I stuck  
with morons who think a sport  
that consists of throwin  
around a brown ugly shaped  
ball is decent conversation?  
I'd much rather talk to u  
about what underwear you're  
wearing? X **_

I smirk to myself at the last part because although part of me is joking, I really wouldn't mind to know the answer…

_**Behave! And be nice! If  
you can do that then I  
promise to give you a full  
on fashion show of my  
underwear later ;) xox **_

"What do you think, Damon?" Matt's voice interrupts my X-rated Elena thoughts and pulls me back to the reality of this cramped car.

"I don't know, I don't care." I roll my eyes and Tyler laughs while Jeremy shakes his head up front.

"He's just cranky because he is having Elena withdrawals," he looks at me with a smirk "Elena was just as moody back at the house earlier when Caroline made sure that we had to all ride separately."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Little Gilbert!" I roll my eyes but feeling slightly pleased that Elena seems to be just as unhappy as I am about this arrangement. I notice Stefan grip onto his steering wheel tightly and I decide to go for a quick subject change. "How long away is this lake house anyway?"

"About two hours," Jeremy answers "Once we get off the highway it'll be much quicker because of the quiet country roads." He explains "It's quite secluded."

"That's great, no one to hear me scream when my brother stabs me in the back again." Stefan hits out coldly and the entire car falls into an awkward silence.

"You know, bitter lane is _that_ way." I motion to my right, noticing Stefan scowling at me through the mirror. "Jealousy Street is your next right."

"Oh I'm not jealous." Stefan fires back. "If anything, I feel sorry for you."

"You feel sorry for _me_?" I ask him amused and look at him in disbelief "And why is that baby bro?"

"Because someday soon Elena is going to realise what a psychotic pain in the ass you are!"

"Unlike you, Saint Stefan, who is absolutely _perfect_ for her, right? Oh no!" I gasp and put my hand against my mouth "Whose going to be crowned Prom King and Queen now that the golden couple are no more?! This is a travesty!"

I notice Tyler snicker beside me but apart from that the three of them stay completely silent, letting us fight this out.

"There you go again, acting like an ass and not taking anything seriously!"

"Oh I take plenty of things seriously, Steffie, just not you!"

"No, because God forbid you actually care about your _family_! Dad and I can go to hell, as long as Damon is happy and gets his own way, right? Our feelings don't matter or come into consideration with you, never have, never will!"

"Oh _please_! Save me the pity party bullshit, you really think I give a crap what Giuseppe thinks? You really think _he_ gives a crap? You need to get your head out of your ass!"

"I do? Me? All I've ever done was try to help you! And how do you repay me? You steal my girlfriend!"

"I didn't steal anyone!" I argue back immediately "In case your amnesia has kicked in again from all those times you were dropped on your head, you and Elena were broken up long before we got together!"

"Right because that is when everything started? Do you think I'm stupid, Damon? I know there was something going on between the two of you!"

"No, we were friends, and you were your usual paranoid bitchy self who built up some soap opera in your head, idiot."

"Guys come on, just leave it yeah?" Jeremy interrupts but we both ignore him.

"You seduced her!" Stefan's voice rises slightly.

"Seduced her? She's not a freakin doll, she has her own mind! Just because she stopped doing what _you_ wanted doesn't mean that I forced her feelings to change from her factory _Team Stefan_ settings! Stop being a dick!"

"She'll see your true colours soon enough, brother! Either that or she'll realise that she can do so much better, just like Katherine did when she started fucking Klaus Mikaelson behind your back!"

I see Matt's head snap in my direction from the corner of my eye and Jeremy turns his head around to face me in his seat and I freeze.

"What did you just say?" I lean forward in my chair, my hand holding onto the back of his as I lean across Tyler so I'm closer.

"You heard me, brother. Let's just hope this one doesn't end with bullets in chests." He spits out nastily and I immediately slam my hand onto the headrest of his chair causing his head to bounce forward a little and the car to swerve. "People die around you Damon! Elena is better off without you!"

"Stop the fucking car!" I shout at him furiously.

"No!"

"Stop the car, Stefan!" I hit the headrest again.

"Woah, calm down man!" Matt speaks up but just like with Jeremy, we ignore him.

"Fuck you, Damon!"

"STOP THE FUCKING CAR!" I punch the headrest repeatedly.

"Just stop, man!" Tyler says loudly.

"Stefan just pull over!"

He does as he's told and pulls up onto the mudded grass on the side of the road and before he even comes to a full stop I open the door and jump out, within seconds I'm at Stefan's door and I swing open his door and pull him out, grabbing his shirt with my fists.

"What you gonna do, Damon? Hit me! Go on! I dare you!"

"Don't tempt me, brother!" I hiss at him furiously and clutch onto his shirt even tighter.

He chuckles and attempts to pull my arms down but I'm too strong. I hear car doors open and close from around me and I'm guessing they are getting out too but my concentration is focussed solely on my brother.

"Dad was right about you, you're a waste of time! You aren't fixable! Every time something goes wrong or someone says something you don't agree with you lash out!" he shouts in my face but I don't even flinch, years of tension that has been built between us spilling out and suddenly this has become to about far more than just Elena.

"You're selfish and impulsive!" he continues "You never take anyone else into consideration, after _everything_ we have done for you this past year, what have you done to thank us? You break my heart and you do anything you can think of to piss off Dad! He loves you, Damon! Why do you hate him so much?!"

"You don't know a _thing_ about me!"

"Do I not? Look at you! You're about ten seconds away from punching me and I'm your own flesh and blood!"

"You deserve it and don't you dare try and pretend you don't think otherwise!" I push his body against the side of his car and I see someone take a step closer from the corner of my eye but I ignore it. "You think you have the perfect life, don't you?"

"Not anymore, _you_ ruined it!"

"It was never perfect to begin with! Are you really that _blind_ and _stupid_, Stefan?" I spit out at him in disbelief "How can you grow up and live with a man and not know a single fucking thing about him! You want to know why I hate him so much? I'll tell you then shall I?!" I slam his body back against the car again and watch as his face flinches in pain but I can't stop. I can't think about anything right now than letting this rage out. "He's an evil conniving bitter old man!"

Stefan scoffs and shakes his head. "You call that a reason? You're pathetic, Damon! You can't let go of the past so you take out all your anger on him! He's done nothing to deserve it!"

"No, I guess he didn't! I mean, the time when I was five and I walked in to see him punching our mother in the stomach, wasn't his fault! Or when I was six and I sat up with her all night while she cried, not his fault? Or when I was seven and I snuck out of my bedroom at night to see him push her down the fucking stairs, Stefan!"

"No," Stefan shakes his head furiously "You're lying!"

"She killed herself a week later, Stefan! ONE WEEK LATER! And who the fuck found her? Me! I did! And he blamed me for it! After her funeral, he got drunk and he told me it was my fault! I was seven years old, and he said it was _my_ fault that she was dead because I didn't get help in time! Do you know what it's like to live with that _guilt_ all of your life! DO YOU?!"

Stefan screams with rage and tackles me to the ground, lifting up his fist and punching me in face, I kick out at him, and before I know it his body is pulled off mine and a shocked looking Matt and Tyler are holding him back while Jeremy attempts to help me up but I slap his hands away and jump to my feet.

"YOU TWISTED LYING BASTARD!" Stefan tries to break out of their grasp but he can't, he has tears running down his cheeks and his face is bright red with rage. "You're lying! He didn't do any of those things! She had depression! That's why she killed herself! It was an illness; it was no one's fault!"

I take a step closer and clench my fists tight "Open your eyes, Stefan! Come on! You're only a year younger than me you can't have been totally clueless! Just get your head out of your perfectly sculptured life and realise just how fucking fake it is!"

Stefan however just shakes his head and finally pulls himself out of Matt and Tyler's grip before turning on his heel and getting back in the car, slamming his door shut hard behind him.

I realise I'm panting and I watch as Matt mumbles something before getting in the car, Tyler following and I'm left standing on the side of some empty country road, realising that I've just spilled my deepest darkest secrets to three boys I barely know. I've just told them something that I've never even said out loud before.

To anyone.

"Come on man," Jeremy pats me on the back. "Let's go." He walks off towards the car and I stand still for a moment, wondering if Stefan is going to just go ahead and drive without me and to be honest, I kind of hope he does.

I didn't want any of this to come this way, and to be honest; I didn't want any of it to come out at all. It's not his fault that he was too young to remember, but it is his fault that he can't look back and see that things were never as they seemed. That Giuseppe isn't a controlling bastard who has a bad temper. He needs to stop living in this dream land and come into reality.

I wipe at my eyes, realizing that they are not as dry as I assumed and take a deep breath before walking towards the car and climbing in. The second I close the door Stefan pulls away and for the remaining journey no one utters a single word.

* * *

I get out of Caroline's car and stretch my arms out and stifle a yawn, even though it's only a two hour car journey, I'm feeling tired because it's been a long day. Plus, Damon made sure I didn't get much sleep last night! We need to start taking things easier on school nights!

I check back down at my phone and notice that Damon has yet to reply to my texts, not knowing if it's because of the lack of cellphone service around here or if something might have happened.

I look down at my watch, knowing that they set off later than we did so they probably won't be here for at least another half hour.

"Wow it's big!" Anna compliments as she hops out of the car and I nod my head and walk up the steps onto the porch and unlock the door. Caroline and Bonnie following behind with our bags.

"Obviously my bedroom is mine, and Jeremy has his but except for that, first come first serve so I'd pick before the boys get here." I say it to Caroline and Bonnie, very much aware that Anna will be sharing with my brother.

"Oh, we have to get the biggest one!" Since there are not enough rooms for everyone, Bonnie and Caroline are sharing and quickly run off with their bags.

"Have you heard from Jeremy?" I ask Anna as I motion her to follow me up the steps with our stuff. "Damon's not replying to any of my texts."

"Jer hasn't replied to me either, they probably don't have any service." She says simply and I nod my head, hoping that's the case. I show Anna to Jeremy's room before excusing myself and walking to my own, placing my bag on the floor beside my bed and shutting the door behind me, taking a look around with a smile because I have so many fun childhood memories here, especially with my parents.

Being here, although it makes me sad and miss my parents even more, it gives me a feeling of content and happiness when I think back to all the good times we have had here when I was a child and I'm thankful that Aunt Jenna continued to bring us here after they died to make more.

I unpack my clothes, making sure to hide my surprise treat for Damon at the back of my drawers so he doesn't see if he goes snooping, like I know that he will, because well, he's _Damon_, before changing into more comfortable clothing and meeting the girls back downstairs.

We've just about finished out mugs of hot chocolate when we hear a car pull up and we all jump to our feet to go outside and greet them, Anna and I excited to be reunited with our boyfriends and Caroline and Bonnie eager to kick start the weekend now that everyone is here.

The second they all get out of the car with solemn faces I realise that something bad has happened and when Damon barely looks at me when I walk towards him I know that it's not good.

"Hey you!" I try my best to be cheerful and pretend that I don't notice anything and when I lean up to kiss him I stop when I notice a red bruise under his eye. "What happened?!" I reach my hand up to touch it and he flinches when my fingers rest against the hot skin and turns his head away.

"I hit myself with a door, I know I know, it sounds stupid, I'm embarrassed enough as it is that it happened." He tells me with a smile and I eye him sceptically. He leans down and pecks me lips before stepping back and grabbing his bag from the trunk, I watch as he and Stefan both go and reach for their bags at the exact same time causing an awkward pause in their movements. They both take a step back without even looking at each other and I don't miss the look that Matt and Tyler share with each other as they stand back and watch before Damon eventually makes the first move and lifts his carrier out and walks back towards me. "So, which ones our room?" he wraps his arm around my shoulders and I decide to keep my suspicions to myself for now and let him lead me into the cabin.

"I'll show you," I pull his arm off me to hold onto his hand, linking our fingers together as I pull him inside and up the stairs and into my room. "You like?" I ask with a grin as he drops his bag onto the ground and looks around.

"I like!" He takes off his shoes and falls backwards onto my bed, holding his arm out, motioning for me to join him which I quickly do, snuggling into his side and resting my head into the crook of his neck, closing my eyes as he starts to stroke his fingers through my hair.

"Can we just stay here for the rest of the night?" he asks after a few minutes of silence.

"I wish," I sigh contently "Caroline has already planned out the drinking games! I also think she wants us to get in the hot tub…" I smirk a little and open my eyes to take a glance at his face, knowing that he has been making very naughty remarks about the hot tub all week but I'm surprised to see his face expression neutral, his eyes locked on the ceiling. "Are you sure you're ok?" I ask softly, running my hand down his chest.

"Yeah." He answers simply. "I'm with you, aren't I? Everything's perfect." He lets out a sigh and turns his head to kiss the top of my own before looking back up at the ceiling.

"Good," I smile happily and close my eyes again, wanting to take this moment to ourselves before Caroline ropes us downstairs to join everyone else.

* * *

Damon hasn't been himself all night. In fact, all the boys have been pretty quiet and awkward around each other and I _know_ that something must have happened in the car ride over here.

And since Damon and Stefan haven't even _looked_ at each other all evening, I'm guessing it has something to do with them two.

"Oh my god will you all cheer up!" Caroline moans loudly and I see I'm not the only one to notice the tension. "What is wrong with you all?! We're at a huge cabin in the middle of nowhere with no adult supervision and an endless supply of alcohol and you're all sat around looking like you accidentally killed a puppy!" she huffs and stands up and walks into the kitchen, returning a few seconds later with a bottle of tequila. "We're all taking shots and getting drunk and hopefully you will all snap out of this stupid phunk and actually have some _fun_!"

"Here, here!" Anna jumps up to her feet with a grin and I watch as Jeremy shrugs and stands up, wondering off into the kitchen before returning with a load of shot glasses.

"Sounds good to me," Tyler shrugs with a smile as Caroline pours him a shot and he immediately downs it.

It goes around the entire group; even Damon and Stefan give in and join us, a small smile lingering on each of their faces for the first time these past couple of hours since we got here.

After the tequila is polished off and the vodka and beer comes out, it doesn't take us long to get drunk and before I know it, we are all rounded in a circle in the hot tub.

Damon's hand is resting on my thigh under the water and his thumb is tracing circles causing my body to _throb_ in certain places. I bite on my bottom lip hard as his hand travels higher up my thigh and I reach my hand down and grab his own, stopping it from getting any higher.

"Stop it," I whisper into his ear, watching as a smirk crosses his lips and he turns his head to face me.

"What?" he asks back with that devilish grin and I roll my eyes before leaning forward and pressing my mouth against his, not caring that we aren't alone because I'm drunk and he's _hot_ and irresistible.

His other hand grips onto my shoulder and pulls me closer together until a splash of water crashes into our faces causing us to choke and pull away, I splutter and turn around in shock to see Caroline sitting opposite us with a disgusted look on her face.

"What the hell?!" Damon glares at her angrily but when Caroline motions with her head to her left I notice Stefan looking down into the water with an awkward stance and a look on his face like I've literally just ripped his heart out and I realise we should probably tone it down in front of him.

Damon however doesn't seem to take the hint and continues. "You going to be a bitch all weekend Barbie?"

"Only if you keep on acting like an asshole." She fires back "Stop acting like a dog on heat!"

"You'd know all about how dogs act, wouldn't you." Damon snarls at her and I swot him on the shoulder. "What?" he looks at me in disbelief "You can't be seriously be taking her side?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side, come on, we were having fun." I encourage them both to stop it but it seems they are just going to continue to clash and I wonder how this night suddenly took a turn for the worst.

"You call this fun?" he rolls his eyes and looks back at Caroline. "Stop being a jealous little witch and mind your own and sit and be quiet like a good little Barbie doll."

"Hey!" A deep voice shouts but I can't be sure who it was, it gets lost in all the commotion anyway.

"You really think I'm jealous of _you_? Look at you, you're pathetic!"

"Caroline!" I beg her with my eyes to stop but just like Damon, once she gets started she doesn't know when to quit. Those two are too similar for their own good.

"You didn't think I was pathetic when you had your tongue shoved down my throat!" he hits back with a glare. "So desperate for just a little bit of attention! You want to rethink your definition of the word _pathetic_!"

I frown at the reminder before gripping onto Damon's arm tightly. "Damon, stop it, please!"

He turns his head to face me, his eyes hard and cold. "No I won't stop it, Elena! I'm not your fucking lap dog! I didn't even want to come on this fucking trip with _your_ friends who FYI, are a bunch of small minded small town idiots!"

Now I'm the one who's angry. "Why are you being such a jerk? You promised you would make an effort!"

"Oh I've made an effort! I'm still here aren't I? You want to know what I think of your _perfect_ friends?" he stands up in the tub and points at Caroline. "Desperate attention seeking whore." He moves his hand right to Bonnie. "Judgemental narrow minded witch." Next onto Matt. "Small town washed up nobody" then on to Anna. "Irrelevant," he moves his finger to Jeremy "Try hard whiny idiot." He then skips Tyler and moves on to Stefan who is looking at Damon with hostile eyes.

"You got nothing to say about me, brother?" he asks coldly when Damon falls silent.

"Oh I have _plenty_." He snarls and I hate that he is doing this! Why is he doing this?! "_Delusional_! Arrogant, selfish, blind and I think you're a fucking imbecile but most of all I think you're tragic! I pity you, Stefan! Look at you; you're here at your _ex-girlfriends_ cabin desperate to get her back! Move on! She doesn't love you, she never loved you!"

I snap my head towards Damon angrily. "Why are you doing this?" I didn't realise it before but I have tears in my eyes. "If you really hate being here that much when why don't you just leave?!"

"Fine," he hisses back at me angrily and jumps out of the tub. "I will!" he storms off towards the cabin and my heart and my head starts to pound.

Where has this all come from? How did we go from all being friendly and drunk and merry to this? I watch him go in disbelief, not sure if this is really happening because it just seems to have come from nowhere and I don't know why Damon is acting like this!

Stefan's voice pulls me from my thoughts and I can feel the tears run down my cheeks. "I think you have just officially met my brother, the real Damon Salvatore, ladies and gentleman."

"Fuck you, Stefan!" I spit at him coldly before jumping out the tub myself, wrapping a towel around me and walking inside.

I need to be alone right now.

* * *

I throw my newly unpacked clothes back into my duffel bag, just wanting to get the hell out of here as soon as possible. I hate him. I hate him so fucking much.

I've never felt so much hatred towards anyone else but Klaus and it feels strange that it's directed towards my own brother but the second he didn't believe me when I told him the truth about what happened with our Mom, something inside of me snapped and I don't think I will ever be able to look at him the same again.

I know I overreacted with Caroline, and then by insulting Elena's friends and I hate that I hurt her and took it out on her, but I couldn't help it. Plus the fact that she _chooses_ to be friends with idiots like my brother makes me angry.

I zip up my bag and make sure to write a quick note to Elena, apologising, before I leave the room, knowing that once this weekend is over and Elena is back in Mystic Falls I am going to have a lot of grovelling and apologising to be doing but right now all I know is that I need to get the hell out of here before I do anything else that could potentially ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me.

I walk down the stairs and although I can hear voices in the kitchen I don't bother to make my exit known, they probably all want me gone ASAP anyway. I leave by the front door and walk off into the darkness, sticking to the road and knowing that I have a good hour at the least of walking through here before I reach the highway and have a chance of hitching a ride.

I can't fucking believe how this weekend has turned out. We hadn't even gone past the first night and I fucked things up. Elena probably hates me and she is probably crying in my brother's arms as we speak, swapping notes and sharing stories about how much of an asshole I am.

This is Stefan's fault. If he wasn't such a pussy and could admit to himself that there was more to our mother's death than fucking depression, then none of this would even be happening.

I'm still shocked at myself that I brought it up, my mother is a taboo subject in the Salvatore household and I can't even remember the last time we even mentioned her name, even on her birthday, Giuseppe likes to make sure that everything is brushed under the carpet and that we go on as if everything is normal.

I've learned throughout the years to just not bring her up, it's easier that way and besides, in a way, I was selfish to go along with Giuseppe's way because it hurt me too much to talk about her anyway. It was easier to just pretend that she never existed then it was to admit what happened, to realize that we all had our own share of the blame in her death.

I think I've been walking for about an hour when I see car lights reflect off the ground beside me, I stick my thumb out, hoping that they will be kind enough to pick me up but knowing that I would drive past a strange mind walking through the woods in the middle of the night too, which is why I'm surprised when the car stops, it's not until I walk towards it when I groan and recognize the car.

Caroline's.

I stop and turn back and start walking away again and I hear the engine come to life and drive alongside me, the window winding down.

"Get in the car, Damon!"

I'm surprised that it's not my least favorite barbie's voice that I hear and instead it's her best friend.

"Go away Bonnie!" I hiss, not even bothering to turn to face her.

"You seriously can't be thinking of leaving like this in the middle of the night?" she asks as she continues to drive slowly beside. I ignore her and keep on walking. "You know Elena is worried about you, she's crying back at the cabin, if you even care."

"Of course I care." I snap at her in annoyance "I'm doing her a favor, I'm doing everyone a favor!"

"By getting yourself killed? It's dark and secluded out here and who knows what kind of wild animals come out at night."

"I'm fine, I've made it this far haven't I? The highway isn't that far away."

"You know, she's been trying to call you."

"In case you didn't realize, we're in the middle of fucking nowhere, no cellphone service!"

"She's worried about you, Damon. She's scared you'll do something stupid, _again_." I go back to ignoring her and keep walking, hoping that very soon she'll get bored and trying to keep the part to myself that if Elena really was that worried she'd be here right now instead of Bonnie Bennett.

But that's the selfish part of me, because honestly, if I was Elena I wouldn't have bothered either.

We continue this really lame cat and mouse game for about ten more minutes before she eventually gives in like I knew she would.

"Fine," she sighs "Be like this." She huffs "But at least let me give you a ride to the end of these roads? Elena would never forgive me if you got eaten alive by a bear or something."

I stop and think about it, my legs are really tired and it is _really_ dark out here. "Why do you even care? Have you got amnesia and forgot what happened not too long ago?"

"What? You mean when you called me a judgmental narrow minded witch? I remember, Damon, and to be honest, I don't really care what you think about me."

"Feeling is mutual honey."

"Just get in the car." She rolls her eyes and stops driving and I sigh before reluctantly doing so.

"I swear to god, if you even think about turning around I'll smash up this car so bad Blondie will have to win the lottery to pay to fix the damage." I huff as I slam the door shut and she starts to drive.

We fall into silence as she drives along and surprisingly it's not that awkward. I let myself get lost in my thoughts, cringing some more about being an ass to Elena when she didn't do anything to deserve it.

I turn my head to face Bonnie confused when she turns into the motorway and starts driving. "You know you can just drop me off anywhere around here…"

"There's a 24 hour bus station not too far from here, seems a bit silly dropping you off out here alone in the middle of the night when you can just get on a greyhound, you'll probably have less chance of being kidnapped and murdered there anyway."

I shrug and turn to look back out of the window and before I know it Bonnie has pulled up in the car park of the station and I wonder how long we were even in the car for.

"Thanks," I tell her sincerely and watch as she nods her head at me. I go to get out but her hand reaches out and touches my arm, stopping me. I turn back around to face her confused.

"Jeremy told me what happened with you and Stefan in the car ride on the way over here," she says sympathetically and I cringe because I realize _that's_ why she's here. She feels sorry for me.

"He shouldn't have said anything," I mutter in annoyance "It's no big deal."

"Damon come on," she sighs "Just tell Elena what happened, she'll understand. She may be a little mad at you right now, but she _loves_ you. She's probably already forgiven you, and that is without knowing what got you all riled up."

"Why do you even care? I called you a judgmental witch remember."

"Because I can see how much you love my best friend and you practically worship the ground she walks on, and ok, you may act like a Class A jerk some of the time, but you're not as bad as I thought you too be." She mumbles awkwardly and I can't help but smirk.

"You're Team Stefan settings are a little faulty, Sabrina."

"I'm Team Elena, actually." She tells me purposefully "And I think you should come back to the cabin with me and apologize to her so everyone can enjoy their weekend."

"You really think everyone will enjoy their weekend if I'm there?"

"Believe it or not, Damon, despite your earlier outburst, the boys don't hate you. Jeremy and Matt understand why you lashed out and Tyler is your friend, besides I don't think you even insulted him!" she muses for a moment before continuing "Caroline will get over it and as for Stefan? When have you ever cared what he thinks? Elena loves you, Damon, don't be an idiot and screw this up."

I stay silent and think about her words, knowing she has a point but also knowing that Elena probably doesn't want to see me right now.

"She pretty much told me to leave, Bonnie." I say quietly.

"Yes because you forced her too, you were acting like a douche saying you didn't want to come, she was just acting defensive to your idiotic behavior."

"I was a jerk," I admit before turning my head back to face her "And I'm sorry to you too, you aren't actually that bad."

She fake gasps and presses her hand against her heart "Oh my god, did Damon Salvatore just apologize?!"

"_Yes_," I roll my eyes and try to hide my smile "Don't get used to it, it's a one-time thing."

"So are you coming back or what? Because believe it or not this is _not_ how I would like to spend my Friday night."

"Fine," I reach out and buckle in my seatbelt. "But only because Elena doesn't deserve to be on the receiving end of my assy behavior. I never intended to upset her, I don't even know why I did what I did, Caroline wasn't being any more annoying than usual and even Stefan had kept his snide remarks to himself since the whole mothergate incident."

"Yeah well, alcohol plus pent up feelings often leads to disastrous consequences." Bonnie shrugs while she pulls out of the carpark and heads back towards the cabin.

I chuckle and lean my head back against the headrest behind me as she drives us back, grateful for this because I was acting like a tool.

I just hope Elena can forgive me and we can move on and enjoy the weekend, and I'll promise her that I'll make a real genuine effort with her friends, _even_ Caroline.

The car ride back is fairly pleasant, Bonnie and I making light small talk between us and I realize why Elena can be friends with her, she really isn't so bad and as we get closer to the lake house I realize that I was stupid for leaving in the first place.

However my heart stops when Bonnie pulls up outside the cabin and I see Elena and Stefan sat on top of the steps with their arms wrapped around each other in a tight embrace and suddenly I wish I had just gotten out of the car and onto that bus when I had the chance.

* * *

**Sorry to leave it there folks! The next chapter will continue where I left off! **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you're all awesome and helped me finish this chapter today to get it posted! **

**Until next time :) **


	23. Chapter 23

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Woops, I know I said I was going to continue straight where I left off but I decided to go from Elena's POV from how she got to where I left off on the previous chapter!**

**And to make up for the little in the last chapter, there is lots of DE in this!**

* * *

I groan and throw down my cell phone onto my bed in frustration when my call to Damon goes straight to voice mail yet again! I run a shaky hand through my hair still not quite believing that any of this is happening because a few hours ago we were happy and everything seemed perfect.

How could it have gone from stolen kisses in the hallway at school to _this_?

I walk back over to my bed and dial his number again, and just as expected it goes to voice mail but this time I leave a message. "Please Damon; just come back so we can talk about this! I'm worried about you being out there by yourself in the middle of the night, anything could happen! Please…" I trail off before hanging up in frustration because I haven't even done anything to deserve this.

I decide I can't be in this room any longer because I feel like suffocating and I close the door behind me before walking down the stairs and outside, sitting on the top step of my porch and looking out into the night sky, watching all the stars above glisten brightly, the moon big and full.

I frown when I notice that Caroline's car is missing but I don't dwell on it long because I'm soon interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing behind me. I turn my head and look up to see a hesitant looking Stefan walking towards me with a small smile on his face as he sits down on the step beside me.

"I remember the last time we were here; we spent our last night sleeping outside just talking and watching the stars, it feels like so long ago now…"

"Now is not the best time to take a trip down memory lane, Stefan." I sigh and look down at my shoes awkwardly.

"I know," his voice is quiet and sad and I turn my head to see a hurt look on his face. "I'm sorry for tonight."

"Don't be, it's not your fault your brother has a self-destruct button." I shake my head at the thought because I always knew this, I've seen it happen, I just didn't think it would happen again anytime soon.

I really thought Damon was happy, that he was in a good place. How could have I been so blind to miss this building up? I don't even understand _why_.

"It may kind of have something to do with me that he hit it though." Stefan confesses meekly and I look at him curiously.

"Something happened on the way over here, didn't it?" I ask and he confirms my earlier suspicions by nodding. "God, that bruise on his face, it was from you?" again he nods and I let out a dry laugh before turning back to look straight ahead. "What did you say to him Stefan?"

"Lots of things, things I shouldn't have said, things I'm not proud of." he admits "But it was what _he_ said in retaliation that caused the biggest problem." I hear his voice harden and I turn back to face him.

"What did he say?"

"A bunch of crap and lies about our parents, he brought some things up from the past that should have stayed there but he twisted it to hurt me."

I frown because I really can't imagine my boyfriend using his parents to hurt Stefan, even if he was pissed off. "How?" I decide to stay neutral for now, because the last time I listened to what Stefan said over Damon, he was wrong and the latter ended up in a hospital bed and wouldn't talk to me for a month.

Stefan shrugs "I don't really want to talk about it, Elena."

"That seems to be the answer of the day," I mutter in annoyance "Nobody wants to talk, everyone just wants to bottle up their feelings until they come exploding out in the worst kind of way."

"I'm not Damon." He snaps back in annoyance.

"No," I mutter tiredly "You're not."

We fall into an awkward silence and I realize how right Stefan was about how different things were the last time we were here. I never would have thought that just six months later Stefan and I would have broken up and that I'd be dating _Damon_ of all people.

"How did we get here, Elena?" Stefan asks sadly and I shrug and shake my head.

"I don't know, Stefan." I admit because honestly, I could never have predicted this.

"I miss you," he admits and I can hear the hurt in his voice "So much. I miss everything about you and it hurts me _so much_ to see how easily you have moved on, and with my brother of all people. Don't you get that, Elena? It's not easy for me to just forget about you! I _can't_ just forget about you, I love you!" I look at him to see that he has tears falling from his eyes.

"Stefan I-" I stutter because I really don't know what to say to this. "I'm sorry." I realize how lame that is, that he deserves more. "I never intended to fall in love with someone else, never mind it being your brother, it wasn't planned, it just happened. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

"You deserve so much better than him, Elena, you deserve the best and I'm scared that he's going to hurt you. You saw him tonight, you saw how quickly he can destroy something when he hits the self-destruct button, he's done it before and I worry that he'll do it again but to you on the receiving end."

I immediately shake my head in protest. "Don't, Stefan. Don't make this about Damon, please." I try my best to not get angry at him, because he doesn't seem to know the same Damon Salvatore that I do, and if he did, whatever has happened between them today has ruined it anyway.

"Sorry," he mumbles before putting his head in his hands "God I'm such an idiot, I'm sorry for doing this, Elena."

"Don't apologize," I reach out and place my hand on his arm "I'm sorry that I hurt you, and I do miss you Stefan, but as my _friend_."

He lifts his head, his eyes red and his cheeks damp with tears as he slowly nods his head. "I'd like to be your friend, for real this time."

I smile softly at him before wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer for a hug. "I'd like to be your friend too." He clings onto my tightly, his head resting against my shoulder and I sigh while rubbing my hand up his back hoping to make him feel better, it's the least I can do, right?

We're interrupted by the sound of a car and the brightness of lights and I pull away and turn around to see Bonnie get out of Caroline's car and my heart stops when the passenger door opens and Damon climbs out, a frown on his face and I immediately jump to my feet.

"Damon!" I hurry down the steps but his reply slows me down.

"Sorry to interrupt," his voice is cold and distant and I look at him confused before realizing that he saw Stefan and me hugging.

"No that…that wasn't what…" I stutter out because I can't believe he is really going to go there. "Stop acting like an ass!" I huff in annoyance because I am sick of feeling guilty when I haven't even done anything wrong.

Damon lets out a dry laugh and turns to face Bonnie "I knew this was a waste of time, see ya." He turns on his heel and turns to walk away but I quickly close the distance between us and grab a hold of his arm and pull him back around.

"No! Don't you dare run away from me again, Damon!"

"Run away?" he shouts at me disbelief "I came back here to apologize And what do I come back to? A soppy reunion with you and brother dearest! I should have known that this was going to happen sooner or later, how could you possibly not belong to Stefan, right? I mean I'm the bad brother! I'm just a phase! It's fine, you go back to him, I'm sure if you start your campaign now the two of you will be crowned for Homecoming!"

"Oh don't give me that bullshit! You know that I love _you_ so stop pretending otherwise! You're overreacting, just like you did earlier! You were the one who left before we even got to talk about any of this!"

He glares at me and looks away moodily and I realize that I'm panting, forgetting to take a breath through my rant. "What you just saw? It was nothing; it was innocent, just two friends hugging."

"Friends?" he turns his head back to face me "Why the hell do you want to be _his_ friend?"

"Maybe because I'm not a psychotic asshole." Stefan fires back from the porch steps and Damon charges straight past me, Stefan quickly going down the steps but before they can reach each other Bonnie steps in the way.

"No! Stop this!" she holds her arms out in front of Damon. "This is ridiculous, you're fighting about nothing. Just _talk_ to Elena, explain what happened so we can all just move past this!"

I walk closer to them and look at my best friend confused. "What? What happened?"

"Damon?" Bonnie urges him and he sighs before taking a step back and I wonder when the hell it was that Damon started listening to Bonnie!

Damon turns around to face me, a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry for what happened before; I shouldn't have said what I did and taken my anger out on you." He looks and sounds sincere and just the look on his face makes me forgive him straight away.

How can I stay mad at someone who looks like _that_?

"It's ok." I send him a small smile and I watch as his entire body relaxes and I reach out and take his hand in mine, linking our fingers together.

"You can't seriously be forgiving him _already_?" Stefan interrupts us in disbelief.

"Stefan don't." Bonnie warns him but he doesn't listen.

"He's manipulating you, Elena! He's not sorry! He doesn't know how to be!"

"I swear to god, Stefan, you are _so_ close to getting your ass kicked!" Damon hisses at him furiously "Leave now before I make you!"

"No!" Stefan steps forward but I immediately step in front of Damon just like Bonnie did previously but this time facing the other Salvatore.

"Don't, Stefan, please." I plead with him and watch as he tears his gaze away from his brother and looks down at me.

"Why can't you see what I see, Elena?" he asks me desperately.

"Because I see the real him." I answer honestly before gripping onto Damon's hand tightly and pulling him past Stefan and inside into the cabin without another word.

I shut the door behind us and lead him up the stairs. "I'm still a little mad at you," I let him know but deep down I know he knows he's forgiven.

"I know," he smiles a little at me as we walk into my bedroom. "I really am sorry for acting like a jerk."

"It's ok." I take his other hand in mine "I'm sorry for what you saw when you got back, it really was completely innocent." I tell him sincerely, just needing to make myself clear.

"I know," he nods his head.

"Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Stefan? Bonnie seems to know…" I throw it out there and I'm not going to lie. I'm a little jealous that she seems to know and I don't, especially if it was Damon who told her.

"Yeah well that's only because your baby brother can't keep his mouth shut," he rolls his eyes slightly and moves us over to the bed before sitting down and it does make me feel better to find out that Damon didn't share this with anyone else intentionally.

"You know you can talk to me about anything," I bring his hand to my lips and kiss his knuckles softly.

"I'm surprised my brother hasn't already told you his version of events."

"He mentioned it briefly," I admit "But I don't care about his version, I just want to know _yours_." He looks surprised by my answer and I wonder why because surely he should know that I'd always take his side over Stefan's about anything now. I know that I made a mistake in the past but I've learnt from that. I trust Damon more than I trust myself; I know that whatever he tells me will be the truth.

"This could take a while if I have to tell it properly?" he offers me a way out but I immediately shake my head.

"We have all night," I offer him an encouraging smile and he takes a deep breath and starts talking.

* * *

"Damon," a soft sleepy voice whispers in my ear and I groan and keep my eyes closed, willing myself to go back to sleep. "Daaaamon." I feel a hand stroke my chest and my eyes flutter open confused and for a second I forget where I am. "Wake up baby." I squint, trying to adjust to the brightness and look up to find Elena leaning over me from behind with a small smile on her face. "Finally."

"What?" I yawn and turn onto my side, her head falling off me slightly but she leans on her elbow beside me and lets her hand stroke between my bare chest and stomach soothingly. "What time is it?"

Elena shrugs "Nine? I'm not sure, but I woke up ages ago and I'm bored…"

"So you thought you'd interrupt my beauty sleep?" I tease and wrap my arm around her, playing with the material at the bottom of her tank top.

"You don't need anymore, you're already far too beautiful for a man," she smirks and rests her head on my shoulder, her lips pressing against my skin.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment?"

"It is," she kisses me chest before leaning up and pressing her lips against mine in a slow kiss. "Morning," she pulls away and I smile.

"Morning." I say back and lift my other hand to hold the back of her head, my fingers getting tangled in her soft messy hair. Last night was a huge breakthrough for the two of us, I told Elena everything that had happened the previous day with Stefan in the car, and in order to do that I needed to tell her the whole truth about my mother's death.

I started from the beginning; from the first time I saw Giuseppe hit her all the way up until after the funeral. I cried and she cried with me, and she held me tightly in her arms and said she that she wishes I never went through so much pain in my life and that she'll do her best to make sure that I don't go through anything like that again. I told her that she was amazing and perfect and that I didn't deserve her, which she quickly argued with me about.

I'm glad to get things off my chest that I hadn't spoken about _ever_, to _anyone_. Things that I have kept bottled up since I was seven years came spilling out and Elena just accepted them and accepted me.

"Can we just stay here all day?"

"I wish," she mumbles against my chest "Caroline has a day filled of fun activities for us all."

"Great," I roll my eyes "I still need to apologize to her…to everyone really." I cringe just thinking about it. The thought of apologizing to Caroline Forbes makes my head hurt.

"Don't worry about it," Elena lifts her head up and reaches her hand out to stroke my face "I'll talk to her."

"As much as I love you for that, I need to do this myself. I was a jerk and she didn't deserve what I said."

Elena smiles brightly at this and leans forward to kiss me again. "God I love you." She mumbles against my lips before kissing me again and I moan into her mouth as she slips her tongue inside mine. I trail my hand down her back and around her waist, slipping underneath her tank top to stroke her skin.

I roll us over so I'm on top of her and press my body against hers under the covers, my hand travelling upwards towards her breasts and I squeeze her right one firmly causing her to moan against me and grip onto my back tightly, her nails digging into my skin. My other hand tugs on the top of her shorts but I'm surprised when Elena's hand falls down to my own and stops me.

"What?" I pull away confused and she leans up and pecks me quickly before pushing me off her so I roll onto the bed beside her.

"We gotta get ready!" she climbs out of the bed and I whine loudly in protest.

"Elena!"

"Sorry baby, but if we're late, Caroline is gonna throw a hissy fit." She sends me a sympathetic smile before pulling out a towel from a drawer and throwing it at me. "Now go shower!"

I grab the towel and sit up, reluctantly pulling myself out of my bed and making my way over to her. "Only if you join me?" I grab her hips and pull her against me, very much aware of the bulge in my briefs pressing against her short shorts and she closes her eyes with a groan and clings onto my arms tightly. I lean down and press an open mouthed kiss to her neck, letting my tongue run down it before kissing her collarbone slowly.

"Damon," she hisses as one of her hands runs through my hair, tugging slightly.

"What?" I mumble against her skin in fake innocence, I raise my head and smirk "Aren't you going to help me with my problem?" I take her other hand and rest it against the bulge of my briefs and she gasps slightly, her wide eyes looking down at it darkly before she pulls her hand from mine and dips hers into my shorts. I groan as her hand grabs onto my large erection and I tug my shorts down as she pulls it out. "God," I gasp as she strokes her fingers along it, her nails scraping it and she looks up at me with a smirk.

"How much do you need my help?" she stills her hand and I groan and place my hand on top of hers but she just users her other hand to pull it back off. "Well?"

"So much," I wonder how the roles reversed suddenly but I don't even care. I'm like putty in her hands just like always, "Please Elena, take care of it."

She grins evilly at me before her hand starts to pump my erection up and down and I groan before crashing my mouth against hers in a searing kiss. Her other hand grips into my hair firmly and I grab onto her ass tightly and pull her closer against me as her hand continues to pump up and down.

"God," I pant and pull away, leaning down and resting my head against her shoulder, my eyes squeezed shut. "Keep going baby, I'm almost there."

"Come on, come for me." She strokes her other hand down to my neck and plays with the bottom of my hair before pressing kisses to the side of my head.

It doesn't take much longer for my orgasm to hit me and soon I'm gasping and panting into her shoulder, my body shaking as Elena helps me ride it out before wrapping her arms around me tightly.

"I love you," I murmur against her before raising my head and kissing her with a smile on my lips.

"I love you too," she grins before stepping back and eyeing me up and down "But now you _really_ do need to go and shower!"

* * *

The rest of the day goes by without any major hiccups. Damon apologized to everyone one by one and they all accepted it without argument, even Caroline took it in her stride and let it go, although I think Bonnie may have had a word with her because she has kept her snarky comments to a minimum.

Damon and Stefan have continued to pretend that the other doesn't exist, not acknowledging each other at all or even looking at each other. To be honest, it is probably for the best, at least until we get back to Mystic Falls tomorrow.

"So what are our plans for tonight, Care?" I ask walking into the lounge and sitting down next to my friend in front of the fire, Bonnie and Anna also in the room. Stefan and Matt are around somewhere and Damon, Jeremy and Tyler have driven into the next town to pick us all up some takeout food.

"I think we should go to that club in the next town over, it was really cool and fun the last time, wasn't it?" she suggests and I nod my head in agreement. It was a lot of fun.

"Um, one problem…" Anna interrupts "We're all underage."

"I think you underestimate me, Anna!" Caroline smirks and leans down to pick up her purse before pulling out an envelope and picking out a pile of cards. "I got us all fake ID's," she tells us proudly "You're welcome," she looks down at a card "Gretna." She giggles before handing the card to Anna.

"Gretna?" she asks unimpressed, a cringe on her face. "Couldn't use my actual name?"

"What's the fun in that?" Caroline rolls her eyes before passing Bonnie hers. "There you go Sylvia," Before turning to face me with a grin. "and to you, Tallulah."

"Tallulah?" I question amused "Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome!" She then throws me Damon's and I chuckle to see his name is Angus. Nice. He will _love_ that.

Speaking of the devil, the door swings open and Damon, Tyler and Jeremy walk inside with bags in their hands the smell of food immediately takes over the room.

"Thank God, I am starving!" Caroline jumps to her feet and follows them into the kitchen and I quickly make my way other.

"Mm, something smells yummy." I grin and approach Damon who is unloading a bag. He leans down and kisses me quickly.

"I got your favorite." He smiles at me and I grin thankfully as Bonnie goes in search for Matt and Stefan so we can all eat!

* * *

A couple of hours later we are all dressed, buzzed and ready to head out, Caroline's smart idea to make us drink loads before we go leaving me feeling light on my feet already!

"Whoa there," Damon wraps his arms around me from behind as I almost stumble down the porch steps and I giggle and turn around and wrap my arms around his neck.

"Always saving me," I grin widely before pressing my mouth against his and a searing kiss. I pull away, leaving him wanting more and tap on his chest before grabbing his hand and pulling him along. "Come on, we gotta go!"

He follows me into Caroline's car which Bonnie is driving, her and Anna volunteering to be tonight's designated drivers and I hop in with Damon, joining Tyler and Matt. Caroline, Stefan and Jeremy with Anna in the other car.

"You look _hot_ by the way," Damon whispers in my ear as Bonnie starts to drive and I giggle when he leans down and playfully bites my neck. "Absolutely stunning." He admires and I blush immediately as he places his hand on my bare thigh, his fingers skimming the hem of my black dress before leaning forward to kiss me.

"Alright you two, keep it PG!" Tyler teases from beside Damon before pulling my boyfriend into a headlock.

"Ouy!" Damon moans and tries to get out of it and I tug on his arm to pull him back towards me.

"Hey!" I drunkenly point at him "Leave my boyfriend alone, Lockwood!" Damon chuckles and wraps his arm around me and swots Tyler's hand away that tries to regain the upper hand.

"Yeah Lockwood, you listen to my girl!"

"Man you are whipped!"

"I am not whipped!" Damon defends himself immediately.

"Oh please, she has you wrapped around her little finger and you love it!" Tyler laughs and I can't help but giggle because he kind of has a point.

"Hey, it was her fingers wrapped around _me_ this morning," Damon smirks and I gasp and punch him in the arm.

"Damon!" I shriek in embarrassment and Tyler immediately howls with laughter.

"Nice!"

Matt turns around from the front seat and looks at us amused. "I don't even _want_ to know what you guys are talking about!"

"Oh my god I can't believe you just said that." I whine and dig my face against his shoulder in embarrassment.

Damon chuckles softly and turns his head pressing a kiss into my hair "Sorry," he murmurs against me.

The rest of the car journey goes on with more playful teasing and good conversation between us and it makes me happy to see that Damon is getting along really well with Matt and Bonnie.

When we get to the club we meet up with everyone outside before going in together, our fake ID's being accepted without a problem.

"Ugh, Angus." Damon cringes in detest as he holds onto my hand tightly as we walk into the crowded club. "I am _not_ an Angus."

"Caroline's way of being funny," I giggle as we walk over to a booth and the entire group climbs in, except for Tyler and Matt who have gone to the bar to get everyone drinks.

"Well she's not!" he rolls his eyes and pushes the ID into his pocket before wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer against him "One drink with the Scooby gang then you and I are doing our own thing for a bit, I want you to myself." He whispers into my ear and I smirk and turn my head to face him.

"You going to dance with me?" I ask with a smile and widen my eyes.

"If you're lucky, I'll think about it." He answers stubbornly and I run my hand along his leg.

"You danced with me on your birthday, remember?" I smile thinking back to the memory that was the first time he kissed me. "When you kissed me, I really wanted to kiss you back." I confess honestly and watch as Damon looks at me surprised for a moment before regaining his flirty composure.

"I don't know," I admit "I was shocked I guess, and I was with…you know who…at the time."

"True," Damon nods his head before leaning forward "But at least I can kiss you now."

"You can," I smirk before pressing my lips against his and kissing him slowly, my hand lifting to the side of his face.

"SHOTS!" We are interrupted by Tyler and Matt walking towards us with a tray in each of their hands, one full of shots and the other full of our normal drinks.

Everyone grabs a shot each and downs it in one and when we have finished our drinks my moment with Damon is broken by Caroline dragging me off to dance with the girls, Damon waves his hand at me with a smile to say that it's fine and I leave him with a parting kiss full of promise for later as I follow my best friends to the crowded dance floor.

* * *

"Salvatore, you are going to be my wingman tonight buddy!" A drunken Tyler pats me on the back as we walk towards the bar, Jeremy following behind.

"Hey what about me? I bet I can be a better wingman than, Damon!"

"Oh I doubt that," I smirk at him.

"What about Caroline anyway?" Jeremy asks amused and I watch as Tyler immediately gets defensive.

"What are you talking about Gilbert?"

"Oh come on man, I saw the two of you flirting all day today!"

"You don't know what you're talking about kid," Tyler scoffs slightly and I smirk because I can see that he is trying his best to hide it. I think someone has a little school boy crush…

I share a knowing look with Jeremy as we approach a small group of girls that Tyler had previously pointed out, his eye on a black haired tanned girl with dark brown eyes who he has been playing flirty eyes with all night.

The complete opposite to Caroline.

"Ladies," Tyler grins at them, eyeing up that one particular girl. "Can my friends and I buy you all a drink?"

"Of course you can hot stuff," she replies flirtatiously and I roll my eyes at her eagerness.

Really?

The music in the club is loud so when one of the blonde girls walks around her friends to stand next to me I have to lean down to hear what she has to say.

"What's your name?" she asks with a smile and I lean back up and step back at bit.

"Damon." I answer simply and watch her falter slightly when I don't ask hers back.

"I'm Alex," she holds out her hand to shake and I glance at Jeremy who is looking amused, wondering how I'm going to play along with this one.

I can't just totally blow her off and be a dick like I want to because Tyler is busy trying to get cosy with her friend and that could potentially ruin his hook-up and what kind of wing man would I be then?

I sigh before reluctantly shaking her hand, letting go at the quickest second possible.

"So where's this drink you were going to buy me?" she asks with a smirk and I roll my eyes.

"I wasn't," I reply "You want free drinks? Go talk to _that_ guy." I point to Tyler and the girl looks at me a little unimpressed.

"So you're not going to buy me a drink?"

"Nope," I shake my head with a smile "Sorry."

"Well why don't I buy you one?" she asks while twirling her hair around in her finger and I glance again at Jeremy. This girl is not going to give up is she?

"I don't think my girlfriend would like that," I decide to pull out the girlfriend card now, hoping that this won't go downhill. I glance over at Tyler and see the girl he is talking too is laughing so it's clearly going well over there.

"I won't tell her if you won't." she smirks and I chuckle and shake my head as I see Matt approach the bar.

"No thanks." I reach past her and grab a hold of Matt's arm and pull him to stand beside me, I seriously can't bear the thought of standing with this girl for a second longer alone. "This is my pal Matt, Matt this is…" I cringe slightly forgetting her name.

"Alex." She replies with a huff and I nod my head and look at Matt with a grin.

"Alex." I tell him with a nod. "Matt's single," I look at her "He's a handsome kind of guy, wouldn't you say?"

I watch as Matt snaps his head to face me shocked and Alex eyes me suspiciously for a second before giving Matt the once over.

"Matt plays football at Duke…" the lie rolls off my tongue easily. "Alex, what are you doing?"

"I'm majoring in Art and Graphics at Hollis."

"Perfect," I smirk "You're both college students, now that is _great_. Why don't you both go somewhere to talk about how _fun_ college is! Maybe have a little dance…"

"The only person I want to dance with, _Damon_, is _you_." She places her hand on my arm and I watch as Matt raises his eyebrows at me.

I go to reply when I see Elena walking towards us, a curious look on her face as she notices Alex's hand on my arm. I shrug it off and hold my hand out for Elena as she gets closer and the second she is close enough I grab her hand and pull her against me, wrapping my hands around her waist as she looks up at me suspiciously.

"Well that is too bad, Alex, because I think Matt is quite the catch and the only girl I want to dance with is _this_ one." I tell her simply and I see Elena smirk as I lean down and press a kiss to her cheek. "Come on pretty girl," I pull her away from the bar and she follows me for a few seconds before stopping and turning my around.

"What was that all about? Who was that girl?"

I roll my eyes slightly and trail my fingers down her side as she rests her hands on my chest. "Do you know how tricky it is to be someone's wingman when you're not single?" Elena frowns at me slightly and I continue. "Tyler is trying to hook up with this girl he has been making eyes with all night, and he brought him and Jeremy with him to distract her friends…except this one friend didn't seem to take the hint that I'm a one woman man. You know the type? Blonde, stupid, can't take no for an answer…"

"Hmm," Elena turns her head back to the bar where Alex is watching us with daggers in her eyes. "How about I show her just how much of a one woman man you are." She turns back to face me with a smirk before grabbing my head between her hands and crashing her mouth against mine.

It doesn't take long for me to respond to the kiss and I immediately slip my tongue inside her mouth and pull her closer against her. One of my hands grabbing her ass to press her against me and she moans against my mouth as one of her hands falls from my face to grip onto my back tightly.

"You know," Elena mumbles against my lips when she eventually pulls away "I guess I can't blame that girl for trying, you _are_ quite the catch." She plays with the hair at the bottom of my head. "Now come dance with me gorgeous!" She grabs my hand and pulls me over to the dance floor.

* * *

I don't know how long we've been dancing for; probably a couple of hours but all I know is that I'm having such a good time. Dancing between Damon and my best friends, I realize how lucky I am to have this. I wrap my arms tightly around my boyfriend's neck as we move to the beat of the music, the latest Kesha song blaring through the speakers as I giggle as he nuzzles his face into my neck and bites me playfully.

"Guys! Photo!" Bonnie lifts her phone up and Damon and I cosy up together for a photo, his arms wrapped around me and when I look down at Bonnie's cell to see the picture I grin to see how happy we look. Plus, Damon is _hot_.

We jump around, giggling and laughing, sneaking touches in places that shouldn't be in public when Caroline and Bonnie aren't looking. Smirks and winks between us and when Caroline grabs my hand and twirls me around too quickly, Damon catches me and leans down to whisper in my ear.

"You stay right here baby; I'll be back in one minute." I look at him confused and watch as she pushes his way through the crowd before turning back to dance with Bonnie and Caroline, he's probably just gone to the bathroom.

I freeze when I hear the recognizable intro for the next song and immediately look around for Damon.

It doesn't take me long to spot him as he pushes through the crowd towards me with a grin on his face.

"Do you have something to do with this?" I shout over the music as he gets closer and the song Feel So Close starts to fully kick in.

"Maybe," he smirks at me before placing his hands on my hips and I wrap my arms around his neck as we start to dance to the song.

The first song we ever danced too.

Damon leans into and presses his lips against my ear before whispering. "This time, when I kiss you, you're going to kiss me back." His breath tickles behind my ear and I shiver slightly and move closer against him, our bodies' flushes against each other.

Damon's head dips down to mine and he hovers for a moment before pressing his lips against mine and just like the first time, my entire body tingles except this time I kiss him back slowly, my fingers running through his hair as the song continues to play loudly around us.

The two of us stay trapped in our own little bubble while the song comes to its end, stealing kisses and dancing together, forgetting about everyone around us and when the night comes to an end and we leave the club, we never take our hands off each other.

Even through the rowdiness of my drunken friends, Damon and I stay close by to each other, always within touching distance whether he has his arm wrapped around me or my hand locked tightly in his.

It's amazing how far we have come.

When we're in the car on the way back I rest my head against his shoulder and sigh contently.

"I love you," I mumble tiredly, stifling a yawn and Damon leans down and presses his lips against my forehead slowly kissing it.

"I love you too pretty girl." He holds me tightly and I let sleep take over me, all the alcohol I have consumed throughout the night catching up with me and when we finally get back to the cabin Damon picks me up and carries me to our bedroom, pulling off my shoes and my dress before placing one of his t-shirts over my head and pulling the blanket up over me and kissing me goodnight.

I don't fall asleep properly until I feel his hands wrap around me from behind, his head nuzzled into the back of my neck and his hands resting on my stomach and that is when I finally let sleep take over me.

* * *

**The next chapter will be the last installment of their time at the lake house and lets just say the drama isn't over yet...**

**Hope you all liked it and I feel like I am repeating myself at the end of every chapter but seriously thanks so much for the reviews they really do help me to keep writing this story and update regular for you all!**

**I hope you all have a happy new year! See you in 2013 :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Happy New Year girls and boys! Hope you aren't hanging too much from drinking way too much like I am! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

When we wake up the next morning Elena has a hangover that I am not surprised about and I watch as she digs her face into her pillow and whines.

I chuckle softly and reach my hand out to stroke her frazzled messy hair soothingly, watching as she lets out a content sigh. "Don't stop," she murmurs tiredly and I continue to play with her hair while my other hand runs up and down her side slowly.

I lean down and pepper kisses along her shoulder and collarbone before raising my head and kissing the tip of her nose, watching as she smiles with her eyes still closed.

"I feel like death." She mumbles quietly and I lean forward to press a kiss to her cheek.

"I know baby, go back to sleep ok? I'll go make us some coffee." I go to climb out of bed but she grabs onto my arm tightly.

"Stay? At least until I fall asleep." She asks with her eyes still closed and I smile and lean back down in agreement, Elena turning around so her back is pressed against me and I wrap my arms around her from behind, stroking her stomach soothingly.

"Of course princess," I kiss the back of her shoulder as my fingers continue to run up and down her flat stomach underneath my t-shirt that she is wearing.

I wait until I hear her breathing even out and I know she's gone back to sleep, I press a kiss to her temple before slowly climbing out of bed, untangling my arms from her carefully so I don't wake her before quickly pulling on a t-shirt over my bare chest and sneaking out the room.

I walk down into the kitchen wearing just my t-shirt and shorts and immediately groan when I see Stefan sat alone at the counter reading a newspaper.

I don't even bother to say anything as I walk over to the modern coffee machine and try and figure out how to use it.

"You need to press the square button," I hear my brothers voice from behind me and I roll my eyes before doing so, watching as the machine roars into life. "You're welcome." He mutters sarcastically and I stay silent as I pull out two large mugs from the cupboard.

I stand silently with my back to Stefan as I want patiently for the coffee to be ready.

"Elena likes her coffee sweet, and with just a drop of cream."

I grip the counter tightly and reply without turning around. "I _know_ how to make my girlfriend coffee."

"Just checking, I know that you never tend to pay attention to small details like that." There is something in the tone of his voice that I really do not like.

"Thanks for the _tip_, brother," I swing around on my feet to where he is watching me with a sickly smug smile on his face and I really just want to punch him in the face. "But it's not needed, I pay attention to _everything_ Elena related, not that my relationship with _my_ girlfriend has anything to do with _you_."

"You know it's funny you should say that," Stefan climbs off his stool and walks around the counter so he is closer to me "I remember saying something along those lines to you when Elena was _my_ girlfriend."

I chuckle and shake my head "Good job she finally saw sense and chose the better brother, huh?"

"Nah," Stefan shakes his head right back at me "Elena will come back to her senses soon enough. "You see, me and Elena? We're _epic_. You and Elena? A disaster waiting to happen. She's too good for you, brother, and I'll be there waiting in wings for you to fuck things up just like you always do and she'll come back to me."

"Well that is just pathetic," Both Stefan and I snap our heads in the direction of the new voice to enter the room and Stefan's eyes widen when he sees that it's Elena.

I watch as my girlfriend walks further into the kitchen with a frown on her face, dressed in only my t-shirt and probably short shorts underneath as she approaches us.

"When are you going to understand, Stefan? I don't want to hurt you but there are only so many times I can tell you nicely that we are _never_ getting back together without sending you a mix tape full of Taylor Swift songs. I love Damon, I'm _in_ love with him and the sooner you understand that, the better." She tells him firmly and I can't help but smile at her confidence.

The old Elena would not have stood up for herself like this knowing how much it would hurt my brother. She'd have just stayed silent to keep the peace and avoid conflict.

"And to be frank, I am starting to get _really_ sick of your snide comments about our relationship. You don't know anything about it so stop saying all this shit to Damon to try and rile him up and cause trouble between us! It hasn't worked so far and it's never going to!"

Stefan gawps at Elena in shock before finally finding his voice. "I'm sorry that you feel that way, Elena, but I am only looking out for _you_."

"If that were true you would be supportive of our relationship and happy that I'm happy. I'm sorry that we ended badly, but I'm not sorry that I fell in love with your brother, that is harsh, but Damon is the best thing to ever happen to me and the sooner you realize that this isn't some one-way relationship and that this is _my_ choice, the better! He didn't force me into this, this is _real_."

I actually think my brother is going to cry.

"So if you don't have anything good to say, please just don't say anything at all." She steps closer and takes a hold of my hand and turns her body away from Stefan to face me, putting an end to the conversation and I shrug in mock innocence at my brother who storms out of the kitchen with a face full of thunder.

"That was _badass_ Elena Gilbert!" I chuckle as I place my hand on my hips and she just groans and presses her head against my shoulder and I wrap my arms around her as hers wrap around my waist.

"He just brought my headache back," she whines against me and I chuckle. "But that did need to be said, I'm sick of him talking to you like crap."

"I could have handled it myself, you know." I tell her, but still grateful that she did say something.

"I know, but you looked like you were about to hit him and I'd rather you use your hands for _other_ things."

"Oh yeah?" I grin and turn us around so she is leaning against the counter, I lift my hands down and pick her up so she is sitting on the counter and I lean against her as she wraps her legs around me, her arms hooking behind my neck as I lean forward and kiss her slowly.

One of Elena's hands wraps into my hair on the back of my head and deepens the kiss, her tongue slipping inside my mouth as she starts to fight for dominance and I loosen one of my hands from her waist and run it down her bare thigh before squeezing it tightly.

The back of Elena's heels dig into my back firmly as one of her hands reaches down and squeezes my ass through my shorts causing me to groan against her lips. I pull away and start to press open mouth kisses down her neck, sucking and biting slightly causing Elena to whisper and gasp as her hands cling onto my hair and neck tightly.

I suck hard on her neck as my other hand trails up her thigh and to the top of her shorts, my fingers dipping inside and I groan when I see she's not wearing any panties. "God Elena," I grunt before she grabs my face and brings my lips back against hers in a hot searing kiss.

I cup her for a moment and her entire body shudders against me, her heels digging further into my skin before I slip a finger inside of her, moaning at how wet she is for me already.

"We should," Elena mumbles against my mouth in between kitchens "Probably…go…upstairs." She says this but doesn't make an effort to move and despite agreeing with her, I can't pull away.

She pulls away from my mouth and starts to press her lips to my neck and I slip another finger inside of her and she shakes against me.

"God, Damon!" she gasps against my skin as I pump my fingers in and out of her.

I feel my erection hardening even more and I know that if I don't take her soon, I won't be able to last. "Hold on," I get out between pants and remove my fingers from her causing Elena to groan loudly before locking my arms under her thighs and picking her up from the counter.

I know I won't be able to last long enough to take her back to her bedroom and we would probably end up running into someone anyway so I quickly walk us to the side door that leads into the garage and slam the door shut behind us with my foot before turning her around and pressing her against it.

Elena drops her legs down so she is standing up and I gasp as she tugs down my shorts and strokes her hand along my throbbing member.

"God," I lean my hand against the door and close my eyes as Elena drops to her knees and looks up at me with a smirk. "Please baby," I pant as her fingers continue to dance up and down and I moan loudly when her tongue slowly darts out and touches the tip before taking it in her mouth.

My body shudders and shakes and I have to use my other hand too to press up against the door, scared that if I don't I'll just crumble to a mess on the floor.

"Elena," I pant out as she continues to suck and lick my member, "I need to be inside of you…"

She slowly removes her mouth with a pop before lifting on the hem of my t-shirt and lifting it higher, trailing kisses along my stomach and up to my chest as she goes before finally removing the top. I don't hesitate to remove her own and then her bra and I pick her up and move us along to the other side of the garage where there is a work top before placing Elena on top of it.

I pull down her shorts and throw them on the ground as Elena wraps her legs back around me, pushing her bare chested body flushed against mine and I lean forward and kiss her.

"God, please, Damon." She gasps against me as I squeeze her breasts tightly "I need you, _now_."

I nod and do as I'm told before slowly thrusting inside of her. Elena moans loudly and I take a moment to adjust before starting to slowly thrust in and out of her.

"Faster," she gasps and I quicken my thrusts, pumping in and out of her hard and fast over and over, pressing my mouth against her lips, her neck, her collarbone, anywhere that I can reach.

"God Damon, I'm gonna…" Elena pants and leans her head down into my shoulder, "I-" she stifles a scream into my shoulder and bites at my skin and I hold her tighter as my orgasm hits me and we both reach our climax together.

We both flop tiredly against each other, our heads resting on either of our shoulders before Elena raises hers and strokes her hand over my head comfortingly, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.

"You're the best," she whispers breathlessly and I chuckle before raising my head and pressing a slow lazy kiss to her lips.

When we pull away she smiles sweetly at me, her cheeks red and flushed, and her hair all wild and messy as her chest rises up and down, still breathless and she has never looked more beautiful.

"You're so beautiful." I blurt out stupidly, my voice in a dreamlike state and my heart literally _hurts_ and flutters when she blushes and looks down because her shyness at compliments just shows how _amazing_ she is, inside and out. "No," I place my hand under her chin and raise her head so her chocolate brown eyes are on my own. "You're the most perfect human being I have ever laid eyes on, I love you so much."

I watch as she bites on her bottom lip and her hand rises to rest on my cheek. "How did I get so lucky to have you?" she whispers softly.

"I'm the lucky one baby," I murmur quietly before she kisses me slowly, I sigh as she slowly pulls away and she hugs me against her. "Shit," I pull away from her and she looks at me confused.

"What?" she asks with a hint of worry on her face.

"Your coffee will be cold."

* * *

I walk out of the garage door and back into the kitchen with my and wrapped tightly in Damon's and when we do we are met with smirks from Tyler and Caroline who are sat at the counter and I can immediately feel my cheeks reddening.

"Not a word, Lockwood!" Damon warns his friend who starts to laugh and I groan and dig my head into Damon's arm.

"Hey I wasn't going to say anything, Salvatore!" Tyler replies back with a grin and even Caroline giggles and gives me a look to say 'we will talk later'.

I head over to the coffee machine and make us both some coffee, my headache long gone.

"What time do you want to set off?" Caroline breaks the comfortable silence that has descended on us and I shrug.

"Whenever, there's no rush, right?"

"No I guess not." Caroline agrees before continuing "We're switching cars on the way back though," she smirks a little and motions to Damon who immediately holds his hands up in defense.

"Trust me Blondie that is more than fine with me."

"Great, us four and Bonnie in my car, Stefan can take the others." She says as Damon climbs onto the stool beside Tyler.

"Sounds good, I'm gonna go get dressed." I walk around the counter and press a quick kiss to Damon's lips. "I won't be long."

"Okay," he smiles before kissing me again and I leave the room and head back upstairs.

I take a quick shower and put on some clothes and when I'm about to go downstairs I notice the door is open to my parents old bedroom. I frown confused because that is the one room that is off limits to everyone and I slowly walk towards and sigh in relief when I see that it's Jeremy inside.

"Hey," he looks up with a sad smile when he notices me standing in the doorway. "I was just going through some things…" he motions to the many boxes around him and I smile and close the door behind me before and sit on the floor beside him.

"They used to love bringing us here when we were kids," I comment with a smile, thinking back to my childhood where we used to spend the holidays here and most of our summers. "I can't believe it's been six years." I shake my head sadly.

"Coming up seven now, right?" he asks quietly and I nod my head. "Man, I really miss them."

"Me too," I wrap my arm around him and we share a hug for a few long seconds, our thoughts on our parents who were taken away from us far too soon and suddenly. I wipe a fallen tear from my eye as I pull back and send Jeremy a shaky smile to see he has a few tears of his own. "Come on, they wouldn't us to be upset."

"I know," he nods his head in agreement before turning back through some of the boxes and pulling out piles of papers. We stay in silence for a while, both of us going through different things that belonged to our parents, remembering memories as we do.

"Hey…uh…Elena." Jeremy breaks the silence after a good 20 minutes of silence and I turn my head to face him to see that he is looking down at a sheet of paper with a frown on his face.

"What is it Jer?" I ask concerned and lean over to see what he is looking at.

"Um," he raises his head to face me and his eyes are wide with shock.

"Jeremy?" I ask getting even more anxious and worried. I pull the sheet of paper from his hands and look down at it confused.

It's my birth certificate.

Why is my birth certificate here? I swear it's at home in a cabinet with all of our important documents…

I look down it and then immediately gasp when I see that obviously has Jeremy so shaken up.

_Elena Miranda Gilbert._

_Father – John Gilbert._

_Mother – Unstated. _

"Elena," Jeremy's voice interrupts me from my thoughts and he reaches out and touches my arm. "This has to be a mistake."

My shaky hand rises to cover my mouth and I shake my head, tears stinging in my eyes. This can't be right. How can my Uncle John be listed as my father?

Grayson is my Dad, and Miranda is my Mom. This isn't happening. This can't be real.

I look up at Jeremy. "I…I…I don't understand."

"Look, there is obviously something not right here. Let's just go back to Mystic Falls and speak to Jenna and I'm sure there will be some kind of explanation to this." He tries to comfort me but it's not working.

"No," I shake my head as more tears fall from my eyes. "I'm not…Dad…he's not…" a sob falls from my lips as this new information sinks in.

A knock on the door makes us both jump and I turn my head around just in time to see Damon hesitantly walk inside. "Hey I heard…" he trails off when he sees me. "Elena?" he immediately crosses the room towards me and falls to knees in front of me. "What's wrong?" he asks worriedly, his hands gripping my face before his gaze lands on Jeremy. "Is she ok? What did you do?" he asks quickly and I immediately shake my head.

"I didn't do anything!" Jeremy defends himself immediately and another sob escapes my lips and I lean forward and press my face into Damon's shoulder, his hands leaving my face to wrap around me tightly, one arm around my waist securely while the other strokes the back of my head.

"It's ok baby," he whispers into my ear soothingly. "It's ok." He rocks me back and forth and we stay like this for a while before I'm finally able to control my cries and lean back, my cheeks damp with tears and I realize I probably look a mess. Damon leans forward and kisses me slowly before pulling away, his eyes full of worry and concern as he cups my face between his hands. "What's wrong?"

I don't say anything but lean down and pick up the piece of paper that started all this and hand it to Damon slowly. I watch as he looks down at it and his eyes widen before looking back at me shocked. "Elena…" he says my name softly before pulling me back against him and I can't help another cry escape me.

"It's going to be ok," he squeezes me tightly and despite this new shocking information that I've just discovered, I feel safe and secure in his arms. "Jeremy, do us a favor and go into Elena's room and pack up our things. We're going back to Mystic Falls asap." Jeremy must agree because I hear his footsteps leave the room and Damon and I stay on the floor for a while before he pulls back. "Hey Elena, look at me." I pull back and sniffle, his ice blue eyes looking straight into mine. "This doesn't change anything, you hear me? You're still Elena Gilbert, you're parents, they are still your parents, they raised you and turned you into this amazing young woman that you are, no name on a birth certificate will change that, ok?" he tells me firmly and I slowly nod my head. "Your parents loved you, I love you, and Jeremy loves you. Nothing is going to change."

As much as I want that to be true and as much as his words have made me feel better, I know that the last thing he said isn't the case.

Everything is going to change.

* * *

The drive back to Mystic Falls is a long one. I'm driving Caroline's car, Elena in the passenger seat beside me and Jeremy and Anna in the back, the four of deciding to make a swift exit, briefly explaining to Caroline that I needed to take her car and that Elena would talk to her tomorrow. She didn't argue with me, I think she could sense the seriousness of something going on and Jeremy left Bonnie the keys for the cabin to lock up with no questions asked by anyone.

I glance over to Elena who is staring silently out of the window and I reach a hand over and hold onto her hand, squeezing her fingers firmly and offering a small smile which she struggles to return.

I mean, what do you say to your girlfriend who has just found out her deceased parents aren't her real parents? And that her uncle, who she doesn't even like, is apparently her father.

I hate that this is happening to her, she doesn't deserve any of this.

I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss each finger slowly, trying to do anything I can to make her feel better and when I hear her sigh softly from beside me I know that at least I am doing something right. I press my lips to her knuckles and then bring her hand to rest in my lap. Glancing at the next road sign that says that Mystic Falls is just 3 miles away and I can sense the feeling of dread in the car.

Once we get back into town, I drop Anna off at her house before driving to Elena's. Jeremy gets out of the car immediately as I pull up outside and walks over to the trunk to get their bags out and I watch as Elena stays frozen in her seat.

"You don't have to do this now," I offer her seriously. "We can go back to my place, order a pizza and rent some movies and hide out in my bedroom all night. You won't have to see or talk to anyone, it can just be us and we can forget about all of this until tomorrow."

She stays silent and I think she almost considers it before she sighs and shakes her head. "No, I have to do this now."

"Ok," I nod my head before unbuckling my seat-belt and climbing out of the car. Jeremy glances at me then motions to Elena who is still sat inside.

"Is she coming in?"

"Yeah, just give her a minute." I tell him and he nods his head slowly before walking towards the porch steps "Don't say anything Jeremy; let Elena do this her way."

"I won't." he nods his head at me before going inside and I sigh and run my hand through my hair before walking around the car and opening Elena's door.

"Hey," I offer her my hand "Should we go inside?"

"You don't have too," she tells me "This is the last thing you need right now."

"Hey." I tell her firmly "There is no place I would rather be. You've been there for me more than your fair share, now let me return the favor, ok?"

She smiles slowly at me and nods her head before grabbing my hand and stepping out of the car. We walk slowly up the porch steps and I watch as Elena opens the door and steps inside, almost like she is a stranger.

As soon as I close the door behind us, Jenna walks into the hallway with a towel in her hand. "Oh hey guys!" she greets us happily, unaware of the tension. "You're back early? How was your weekend?"

"Good, thanks." I reply politely when Elena stays silent and fails to answer and I watch as the smile falls from her face when she notices the look on Elena's face.

"Elena?" she steps forward concerned "Is everything ok sweetheart?"

Elena shakes her head and I watch as a tear falls from her eyes and I immediately squeeze onto her hand.

"Elena honey, you're scaring me."

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Elena spits out coldly, her voice cold but shaky,

"What? Tell you what?" Jenna seems shocked and confused by her tone.

"That my Dad isn't my Dad! And my Mom probably isn't my birth Mom either!" I watch as Jenna's eyes widen and she immediately takes a step towards her but Elena throws her arm out. "No, don't! Just tell me the truth, Jenna!"

Jenna glances at me nervously "Elena, can we please go somewhere to talk about this privately?"

"No, anything you have to say you can say it in front of Damon!" Elena hits back and immediately cringe a little.

"I don't mind waiting outside…" I tell her softly, not wanting to be in the way.

"No," Elena shakes her head "Please stay."

"Ok." I nod my head.

"Well?" Elena turns back to Jenna impatiently.

"You're adopted." Jenna confesses quietly and I kind of feel bad for her. This isn't her fault any more than it is Elena's.

"God!" Elena gasps and shakes her head, a small sob falling from her lips "How could you keep this from me?!"

"I didn't know how to tell you, your Mom was the one who was always going to tell you and when she died…I just couldn't do it." She's almost crying now. "I'm so sorry, Elena! I never meant for you to find out like this! We wanted to tell you!"

"Or you never intended for me to find out? How could you go on and _know _my John is my real father!" Elena lets go of my hand and starts to pace hallway and I watch as she stops and swings around on her feet. "Do you know who she is? Who my birth mother is?"

Jenna shakes her head "No."

"I don't believe you."

"Elena I'm telling you the truth, your parents were trying too hard for a baby, and then one day a young girl turns up on their doorstep looking for John, saying that she has just had his baby and she can't look after her. She left her with your parents and no one saw her again, John came and he wouldn't say who she was, that she was a girl he met and they slept together once. He was just 17 years old; he didn't know how to look after a baby, especially by himself, so Grayson and Miranda decided to raise you as their own. They loved you Elena, so much!"

"No I can't-" Elena holds out her arm "I can't listen to this," she bursts into tears before running up the stairs and into her room.

"Elena!" Jenna shouts after her and goes to follow but I grab a hold of her arm and shake my head.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jenna." I tell her honestly and she pulls her arm out of my grip.

"You don't have anything to do with this, Damon!" she shouts and I know that she is just taking out her frustration on me. That's ok. "Don't you dare try and pretend that you know my own niece better than me!"

"I'm not saying that," I tell her calmly "But she's upset, and she's just found out some life changing news, her entire world has crashed down around her. Just give her some time to let this sink in."

I watch as she lets out a shaky breath before nodding her head "Fine, ok." She runs her hand through her hair "Will you please go and make sure she's ok?"

"Of course," I nod my head and go to walk up the stairs but something stops me, I turn to face Jenna who is looking a little frantic. "She doesn't blame you; she's just hurt and upset." I tell her honestly. "I'm sure when she calms down and lets this whole thing sink in over a few days she'll understand why you never said anything."

I watch as Jenna's shoulders sag a little before she nods her head and forces a weak smile. "I hope so. Thank you, Damon, for being here for her."

I shrug "It's the least I can do." I turn away and walk up the stairs, standing outside of Elena's bedroom before knocking slowly. "Elena baby, it's me, can I come in?"

I wait for her to reply but when it doesn't come I sigh before slowly opening the door and stepping inside, closing the door behind me and my heart breaks at the sight of Elena lying in her bed sobbing into her pillow.

"Hey baby," I walk around the bed and lean down in front of her, pushing her hair out of her face with my fingers. "It's going to be ok." I tell her softly before kicking off my shoes and climbing into bed with her, pulling the blanket over our shoulders and I wrap my arms around her tightly and she starts to cry into my chest, her fingers clinging onto my top tightly.

I lean down and kiss the top of her head as her body shakes against me, her tears soaking my t-shirt but I don't care.

"I love you," I whisper into her ear before pressing another kiss to the top of her head and then on her temple. "I promise you, you're going to be ok."

I just hope that my words stand true.

* * *

**So I decided to go with the shows storyline of Elena being adopted! Hope you guys liked the chapter and again thank you so so much for all your amazing comments! Can't wait to see what you guys think of this chapter, your reviews do keep me writing more! **

**Hope you all have a wonderful 2013! **

**Until next time :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

* * *

When I wake up I feel hot and stuffy, and I realize I am still wearing my clothes from the day before and that Elena and I have obviously fell asleep and stayed like that through the whole night.

I glance at the digital clock on her bedside table to read that it's 7am and sigh tiredly. If I'm going to make it in time for school I need to leave soon to go home and shower and get changed.

"Elena," I run my hand down her arm, watching as she sleeps peacefully, hating to wake her up and bring her back to feeling pain and hurt. She cried herself to sleep in my arms last night and it broke my heart. I don't think I can handle to see her crying again. It's just not right. "Elena baby, you need to wake up." I lean down and kiss her forehead before brushing some hair out of her face and I watch as her eyelids flutter open slowly to reveal her beautiful dark eyes. "Hi," I smile softly at her and I watch as she forces a smile back but I can tell she is struggling.

"Hey," she yawns and slowly sits up. "What time is?"

"7am," I tell her and watch as her eyes widen "We slept all through the night." We stay silent for a moment and I watch as Elena looks down at her hands, lost in thought. "Hey…" I reach out and grab her hand in mine. "Stupid question I know, but are you feeling better today?"

She shakes her head and I watch as her eyes start to glisten with tears and I immediately pull her towards me and wrap my arms around her tightly. "Hey I'm sorry," I cringe at myself for being so stupid.

"I just feel like my entire life has been a lie." She cries into my shoulder and I run my hand through her hair soothingly.

"No it hasn't." I tell her firmly. "I know it's a shock, but your parents…they raised you, they brought you up, that's your Mom and Dad. No one else unless you want otherwise."

"I don't even like John and he's…he's…he's my…" she stutters out not even being able to say the words out loud.

"Ssh it's ok," I kiss the side of her head and we stay like this for a while before eventually I pull away slightly. "We need to get ready for school."

Elena shakes her head "I think I'm going to skip today."

"Are you sure? It might help take your mind off it? Plus it'll get you out of this house."

"No I really don't feel up too it." She tells me while climbing out of bed and pulling off her t-shirt and swapping it with a new one before pulling a jumper on top.

"Ok," I tell her simply "Then I'll stay here with you."

"No, Damon." She sighs tiredly.

"Why not? I don't mind…Monday's suck anyway. A day full of Science, Geography, Math and Social Studies? Yuck."

"You heard what Alaric said, you need to improve your attendance if you want a better chance of getting into NYU. How can you do that if you're skipping school every other week?"

"What's one day?"

"And the rest," she rolls her eyes slightly and I sigh.

"Ok fine, I'll go to school. But at least let me bring you lunch?" I offer and I sigh disappointed when she shakes her head.

"You don't need to baby me, Damon. I'm not a doll, I'm not going to break I just want to be left alone." She mutters in annoyance.

"That is not what I'm doing, you just got some big news, you're upset, and I just want to be here for you." I frown "Just like you were there for me with all the drama in my life."

"You mean all those times you told me to leave you alone and that you hated me?" she snaps at me coldly and I freeze. When did this turn into an argument? "I haven't been shot or accused of murder, Damon."

Ok. She's going there. I can deal with this.

"Ok, you want to be left alone. I get it, Elena." I sigh and search around for my jacket before pulling it on and walk towards her and stand behind her as she rummages through her cupboards by her dressing table. "But you don't need to push me away to do it, ok?" I place my hands on her shoulders and lean down to kiss her collarbone. "I'll see you after school then, if that's ok?"

I feel her shoulders sag underneath my fingers and she nods her head and I squeeze them for a second before letting out and turning to leave, stopping when Elena turns around and calls my name just as I get to her bedroom door, for once not having to climb out of the window since Jenna actually knows I'm here for once.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I don't mean to take it out on you," she looks at me guiltily.

"Don't be sorry, Elena. You can take it out on me as much as you like, shout at me, call me every name and curse word under the sun, you can even hit me if you want too. I love you; nothing is going to change that." I tell her seriously and offer her a small smile which she returns and I can see that it is genuine. "I'll see you tonight." I say before leaving the room.

* * *

After I go home, shower and change, I walk to school since I am avoiding Stefan at all costs so can't steal a ride and it's weird being here without Elena's arm looped through mine or holding onto my hand.

My first two period classes are boring and I can't even skip because I need to improve my attendance for college applications. I can't concentrate; my mind is on Elena, hoping that she is ok and that she will get past this.

"Damon!" I turn around in the hallway between my second and third period class to see Bonnie hurrying towards me. "Hey," she greets me with a smile and I nod my head as we start to walk to class, the two of us sharing chemistry together. "Is Elena ok? Jeremy told me what happened."

I shrug, unsure of how to answer. I'm not mad at Jeremy for telling her, I know Elena would want to tell her and Caroline about it so at least that is one less thing she has to worry about. "She's upset, and confused and lost." I explain dejectedly "She feels like her life has been a lie. I keep trying to make her feel better, but I'm not sure if I'm even saying the right things. I mean, what are you supposed to say to someone in this situation?"

"I don't know," she shakes her head sadly. "I might go round there after school; do you think that'd be a good idea?"

"Maybe. I offered to skip school with her today but she wanted to be left alone, it might do her good though to be around her friends. Take her mind off things." I answer honestly. I don't want to overcrowd her and push her, I'm sure Bonnie and Caroline will know how to cheer her up more than I do anyway.

"Yeah, I'll fill Caroline in and we'll go over straight after school." She agrees and we have to cut the conversation short as we walk into chemistry.

I take my seat on our lab desk, looking at Elena's empty one next to me and when Miss Flemming comes in and says we will be working on an experiment today I groan because I will have to work on this by myself.

I gather up the correct equipment and get started silently, I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone or work with anyone else. I just want to get this day over with.

"Where's Elena today?" Miss Flemming approaches my desk and looks at me curiously.

"She's taking the day off, she's not feeling well." I lie casually, wishing she'd just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone.

"Oh, anything to worry about?" she asks concerned and I shake my head.

"Nope, it's probably just a 24 hour bug or something."

"Ok, well tell her that I wish her well and I hope that she feels better soon." She says weirdly before turning around and walking away and I watch her go with a frown.

I take the opportunity to pull my phone out of my pocket and sent a quick text to her, not having had much of a chance to check in.

_**Hey baby, how are you  
feeling? I miss you xx**_

I send the text then cringe at myself, realizing that it was a stupid question to ask her how she is feeling and I'm not even surprised that she doesn't bother to reply.

The rest of the day goes by slowly and painfully, and I wonder how I even got through a full day of this shit before I dated Elena because today has been unbearable. I spent my free period working on my college application with Alaric, trying to concentrate and not think about Elena for more than 30 seconds is an extremely difficult task.

I could tell that Ric knew something was up though, with Elena, and I'm guessing Jenna must have mentioned something but he didn't seem to know what the actual problem was and I was thankful that he didn't ask me about it.

By the time school finished I felt fed up and anxious to see Elena but since she hadn't replied to any of my texts and Bonnie and Caroline said they were heading over there, I figured she obviously wants space so if that's what she needs then I'll give her it. I decide to decline Tyler's offer of a ride home and choose to walk, I need to clear my head and think of what I can do to help Elena get through this.

* * *

The second the doorbell rings I look at the clock in my living room to see that it's almost half three and I know it's Damon coming straight from school. I sigh tiredly while standing up, feeling emotionally drained from my conversation with Jenna today about everything.

We talked a lot, she explained everything to me and answered all the questions that she could, we cried a lot, but we were honest and open with each other and we both apologized for the way we handled the situation. I was wrong to blame Jenna, she was just following my Mom's wishes by not saying anything and then when she died, Jenna didn't know how to approach the subject, if it was even a subject that _should_ be approached. Now that I've calmed down I can understand why she hadn't told me.

Jenna agreed that she would keep my knowledge of knowing that my Uncle John is in fact my biological father a secret for now, at least until I get my head around it and it sinks in. Then I will speak to John; get some answers, about why he gave me up and about who my biological mother is.

That's if I even _want_ to go there. I'm still trying to get my head around that.

I swing open the door open and I'm surprised to see that it's not my boyfriend but Caroline and Bonnie instead, the latter holding a bag full of ice cream and the former with another bag full of DVDs.

"Girls night?" Caroline offers with a smile but I'm really not feeling in the mood for company right now.

"I can't Care, Damon is coming over…"

"Actually…" Bonnie interrupts carefully. "I spoke to Damon at school, he knows we're here." She explains and I frown slightly but step back and let them in anyway. "Thanks," she smiles softly at me and reaches her hand out to touch my arm.

"So, we brought The Notebook, Pearl Harbor Titanic and Romeo and Juliet. All classics! You can choose which one we can watch!" Caroline tells me as she walks straight up the stairs to my bedroom and I can do nothing but follow.

"Whichever," I mumble while sitting on my bed, reaching over to grab my phone to see that I have no texts from Damon to say why he's no longer coming over. Great.

I don't fail the notice the look that Bonnie and Caroline send each other before forcing back their fake smiles and soon Romeo and Juliet is placed into my DVD player and I'm sat between Caroline and Bonnie with a bucket of ice cream between us, and when Caroline wraps her arm around my shoulder and Bonnie takes a hold of my spare hand I realize that this is exactly what I need.

* * *

I sneak out of the boarding house after dinner after receiving a suspicious text message from Tyler getting me to meet him at The Mystic Grill. I'm not sure what is so important that we can't discuss over the phone but I follow his instructions anyway.

It's not like I have anything else to do.

I pull my wool hat over my head and then lift my head up as I walk through the dark streets of Mystic Falls. I debate on whether or not to send a text to Elena to see how she is doing but decide against it, I don't want to interrupt her girl's night. It will be good for her to have a distraction.

I finally get to The Grill and walk inside to see that it is pretty crowded, just like it always is around this time of night, and I pull my hood down but keep my hat on as I cross the bar over to the back where the pool tables are and I see Tyler standing talking to someone. It's not until he turns around when I recognize him.

"Damon Salvatore!" he grins at me before coming over and giving me a quick hug. Trevor was always one of my best friends, he was pretty much my right hand man but after everything that happened we never kept in touch, that was mostly down to me though, hell I never kept in touch with anyone.

"Trevor! Man, what are you doing here?" I look over my old pal, because I haven't seen him since Katherine's funeral and that was a long time ago. He went away to college with Rose, both of them lucky enough to not be involved in _that_ night. "It's been way to long."

"I have some news," I notice that his eyes shift to Tyler who places down the pool cue and I frown as they motion me to follow them out into the back. We walk out of the fire escape door into the back of The Grill and watch as Trevor walks around to check that no one is about before walking back towards me.

"What is it that's got you so paranoid?" I ask curiously.

"Can you remember Pete Sharpe?" Trevor asks me as he pulls out a cigarette and holds one out to offer me but I immediately shake my head to decline and watch as he lights up his own.

Elena doesn't like it.

"Pete Sharpe?" I muse and then it hits me. "Yeah, he was in our class, right? He was friends with Klaus?"

"That's the one. Anyway, he also goes to college at Duke, so I've seen him around a few times and we agreed to call a truce. He wasn't involved in that night just like me, and so we held no real grudge against each other once High School was over." He explains and I frown.

"What's your point?" I ask impatiently.

"He's getting there," Tyler tells me while glancing around.

"So yeah, his roommate shares a class with Rose, and today he told her that Pete had an old friend visiting and that he was staying at their apartment. He said that he was from Mystic Falls so she might know him," Trevor continues and my heart starts to pound when I think I start to realize where this is going. "He said his name was Klaus."

"He's just two hours away, Damon." Tyler steps towards me with a wide excited smile. "He's in North Carolina! We've got him!"

I let the words sink in and my heart is pounding hard and fast against my chest. I know where Klaus is.

I've found Klaus.

"If we go now, we can get there before midnight." Tyler tells me excitedly "Trevor has his car and Rose knows Pete's address, we can _finally_ make him pay for what he did to us!"

My head is in a frenzy. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think.

"Come on man, let's go!" Trevor pats me on the back and goes to walk up the stairs but stops half way when he realizes I'm not following. "Damon? What are you waiting for? This is our chance to make that bastard pay!"

"I…I can't." I shake my head because as much as I want to find Klaus and kill him, I can't leave the state right now.

I can't leave Elena.

"What do you mean you can't?" Tyler asks me in disbelief "This is our chance, Damon!"

"I can't leave Mystic Falls right now," I defend myself pathetically. "It's not a good time, I need to stay here."

"Damon!" Trevor walks back down the stairs towards me. "This is _Klaus_! This is the guy who killed your girlfriend! He _shot_ you! He tried to kill you! He tried to kill Tyler! He set my house on fire and made my family lose everything! You chased this guy around the country for _months_ and now that you've finally found him it's_ not a good time_?!" his voice rises in disbelief, anger and frustration.

"It's not! I can't just shoot off in the middle of the night to North Carolina!"

"Why the fuck not? What the hell has happened to you Salvatore? Since when did you lose balls?"

"Fuck you man, you don't know anything!"

"Damon!" Tyler interrupts. "Don't be stupid about this, let's just go! Come on we're wasting time!"

"No!" I shout at him in annoyance. "I can't go right now!"

"Jesus Christ," Trevor runs his hand through his hair. "You're not the only one who wants to end Klaus, Damon! Think about all the lives he's ruined! How can you not care?!"

"I'm not saying that I don't want to end him, Trevor!" I hiss furiously and take a step forward so we are toe to toe. "I _hate_ him! I want to _ruin_ him! But I can't fucking leave Mystic Falls right now, ok?!" I snap at him because how dare he say that I don't care. Of course I care!

"Is this about Elena?" Tyler asks.

"Who the fuck is Elena?"

"His girlfriend."

"What? You have a girlfriend?" Trevor looks back over at me and lets out a dry laugh. "Jesus Christ, Salvatore. Has she got you on a leash or something? You'd think you'd learn from Katherine to not let another chick steal your balls! Fuck her! You can't let a piece of skirt ruin this for you! This could be your only shot!"

I push him immediately and he stumbles back. "Don't you fucking dare compare her to Katherine! Elena is _nothing_ like Katherine!" I spit out at him angrily.

"No? Look at you! You're whipped! Last time you were manipulated like this you ended up with a bullet in your stomach and a dead girlfriend who was fucking your worst enemy behind your back! Don't make the same mistake, Damon!"

My fist lands in his face before I can even think about it and before I know it we're in a brawl, fists flying everywhere between us, punches hitting any part of each other's bodies that we can reach and it takes Tyler a good couple of minutes to tear us apart.

"What the hell is wrong with you two!" he shouts at us furiously and I wipe some blood from my lip as I pant with anger "We're on the _same side_ for fuck sake! We aren't each other's enemies! We were a family once! You two used to rule Mystic Falls together! We all want the same thing here, so how about you cut the dramatic bullshit and lets just get on with this plan and get our revenge on Klaus once and for all?!"

I feel like a scolded school child and I glance at Trevor who is looking at the ground guiltily.

"Now go on, apologize!"

I stay silent and watch as Trevor lifts his head up and sighs loudly. "I'm sorry man; I shouldn't have said what I said."

"No you fucking shouldn't have!"

"_DAMON_." Tyler glares at me.

"Fine." I huff "I'm sorry for hitting you, I shouldn't have done it. Lockwood's right, we're on the same side, you're my friend." I hold out my hand and watch as Trevor shakes it with a smirk on his face, a matching one growing on my own. "But I still can't go to Duke with you. I'm sorry, but I need to stay here. Elena needs me."

I watch as Trevor and Tyler glance at each other for a moment before Trevor nods his head and sighs. "Alright. I get it, you've moved on."

"It's not that," I explain quickly "I still hate Klaus with every bone in my body, but I'm happy for the first time in my life. I could even fucking go to college," I let out a dry laugh. "I can't leave Mystic Falls right now, I have school and Elena. I don't want to screw that up, she's the most important thing in my life and I wont fuck it up by running off in the middle of the night to another state without a word, it'll break my probation conditions and I can't risk getting caught and losing her."

I watch as Trevor looks at me for a moment before smiling slowly. "You love her."

"I do." I nod my head in confirmation. "And I know you'd be the same if it was the other way around and Rose needed you by her side."

"I would." Trevor nods his head in agreement and looks over at Tyler. "So what do you say, Lockwood, you still up for it?"

Tyler glances at me, almost like he is waiting for my permission and I nod my head. "Go ahead, Ty, as much as I want to be in on this, I can't go, and you're right, this could be our only chance to get Klaus. I trust you both to do a good job."

Tyler nods his head and we fist bump before I give Trevor another quick, _manly_ of course, hug.

I watch as the two of them walk up the steps and then Tyler stops and turns around to face me. "You say you can't come because you don't want to leave Elena, right?" he calls out to me and I nod my head slowly with a confused frown, unsure of where he is going with this.

"Well…" he begins and glances at Trevor briefly before continuing. "What if we bring Klaus to you? We bring him right back here to Mystic Falls." He smirks at me and I watch as a knowing smile crosses Trevor's lips.

"This is where it all started…" Trevor agrees and I take a couple of steps forward.

"This is where it can all end." I finish in agreement, a smile growing my lips.

* * *

I huff as Damon's cell goes straight to voice mail yet again. I glance up at the front door of the boarding house, feeling stupid for even coming here but since my boyfriend has decided to go AWOL and not answer his calls or texts I didn't have a chance so I'm stuck here on his doorstep at half 11 at night, not even being able to knock in case I have to face Stefan, or worse, Giuseppe.

I try to think of what I have done that could get him to give me the cold shoulder. I know I haven't really kept in touch with him much throughout the day but that is just because I was busy talking things through with Jenna. I thought he would understand that.

When I asked to be alone this morning, I didn't mean _all_ day, and when it was my two best friends who turned up on my doorstep after school and _not_ Damon I was a little disappointed, despite enjoying my night with them in the end.

I'm about to just give up and walk home, it's getting late and I'm exhausted but a car light shines brightly as it comes up through the driveway and I squint while standing up, trying to work out whose car it is but it's unfamiliar.

I watch as the back door opens and Damon jumps out, he goes to walk around the car but stops when he sees me. "Elena?" he calls out into the darkness, a confused frown on his face but he quickly glances back to the car and then over at me again. "Just give me a sec baby." He holds his arm out telling me to stay there and I watch with a frown as he walks to the front passenger window which opens and I see that it's Tyler sitting there, but I still don't recognize the guy driving.

I watch as Damon talks through the window with them quietly, every now and then he glances back at me before his attention is back on them. It takes a minute but eventually he steps back and pats the car before turning around and walking towards me, the car quickly driving off.

"Hey," he greets me and leans forward to kiss me cheek. "What are you doing here?"

I shrug and tighten my jacket around me from the cold "I tried calling you…"

Damon frowns slightly and pats his pocket to find his phone before pulling it out. "Ah, shit," he holds his phone up "Battery must have died, sorry baby I didn't realise." He runs his hand down my arm before kissing my forehead.

"That's ok," I smile slowly at him, glad that he wasn't avoiding me and when I look up I gasp when I finally notice the cut on his lip and a small red bruise under his right eye. "What happened?" I ask worriedly as I run my fingers along his face, inspecting the damage.

"Ah, nothing to worry about. I just had a run in with some of Kol's boys, you know how it is." he smiles down at me and I frown wishing that my boyfriend didn't just have to run in with someone to get a beating. I thought this stupid gang stuff was slowing down these days.

"Who was that?" I ask, sensing that Damon was wanting a change in subject and motioning to the now empty spot where he was just dropped off at.

I watch as his mouth opens slightly before shutting again before he finally speaks. "Just an old buddy of mine, he's visiting for the night, so we just went to hang out at The Grill." He motions me to follow him inside and we walk up quietly to his bedroom, Damon shutting and then locking the door behind him.

"Oh, is that why you didn't come over after school?" I question and watch as he pulls his hat from his head revealing his messy dark hair and pulls his hooded sweatshirt over his head.

"I figured you wanted to spend some time with your girlfriends." He mumbles while turning his back to me as he leans down and kicks off his shoes.

"I'd have rather have spent time with you…"

He stops and turns around to face me and I bite on my bottom lip nervously, wondering why he seems so tense and shifty.

"Sorry," he walks towards me and I sigh contently when he wraps his arms around me. "I should have at least called you to let you know, I just didn't want to push you…"

"It's ok." I nod against his chest before leaning back and placing my hand on his cheek. "I just missed you."

"I missed you too," he smiles softly at me before leaning down and kissing me slowly. I sigh against his lips as he eventually pulls away and pushes a strand of hair behind my ear. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," I nod my head honestly. "I talked over at lot of things with Jenna today and it's helped me get my head around a few things."

"Good," he smiles softly at me before stepping back and walking over to his drawers and pulling out a t-shirt. "I'm glad. Are you staying the night?" he questions.

"Only if you want me to?"

"Of course I do," he turns his head behind his shoulder and sends me a quick smile before digging through another drawer and pulling out some shorts before walking towards me and handing me them. "Here you go, you can change into these and we can just relax for the rest of the night?"

"Thanks," I smile gratefully and lean up to kiss him quickly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

We both get changed and I watch as Damon plugs his phone on charge on his bedside table before we both climb underneath the covers and he turns on his TV, giving me the remote to let me decide what to watch.

I settle on a Friends rerun, knowing that Damon doesn't really watch TV so he would just agree with anything and I snuggle into his side and sigh contently, happy to be wrapped up in his strong arms and I giggle in all the right places as each episode goes along.

I don't fail to notice Damon checking his cell phone every two minutes though and I lean up and look at him curiously. "You ok? You've been checking that thing none stop for the past hour."

"Yeah, sorry, just waiting to hear back from Tyler about something." He mumbles while putting his phone back down.

"Anything important?"

"Nope, nothing for you to worry about, beautiful." He smiles down at me before leaning down and kissing my forehead and I stifle a yawn as I lean back down under the covers.

Damon must notice how tired I am before he takes back the remote and turns off the TV before switching off his bedside light. He wraps his arms around me and I nuzzle my face into his neck, my head resting on his pillow as he pulls me closer and it doesn't take long for sleep to overtake me.

Unaware of all the thoughts and plans running through my boyfriend's head that keep him wide awake.

* * *

**So I'm not really sure what to think of this chapter, it feels a bit 'meh' to me. Not my best that is for sure! ****I hope you all still liked it though, and it wasn't too much of a disappointment.**

**Thanks for reading/reviewing/all those alerts! means a lot!**

**Until next time :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

* * *

I look across at the clock to see that it is almost 3am and I wait a few more minutes listening to Elena's steady breathing to check that she is definitely still asleep before slowly climbing out of bed, being extra careful not wake her and creeping into my ensuite bathroom. I silently close the door behind me and immediately hit the call button of the contact of my cell phone and wait impatiently as it connects and rings through before he finally answers.

"Tyler!" I whisper loudly in annoyance "What's happening man? You should be there by now?"

"We're here," Tyler replies but I can hear the anxiousness in his voice. "But he's not, Damon."

I clench onto my phone tightly and squeeze my eyes shut. "What do you mean _he's not_? How can he not be there! You're at Pete's apartment, right?"

"Yeah we're here, we've practically ransacked the place looking for him but he's not fucking here! We had to leave because Pete and his roommate threatened to call the cops." I can hear the frustration in his voice.

"You left? So where the fuck are you now?" I ask in disbelief. I can't believe they don't have him!

Why is Klaus always one step ahead of us?

"I'm stood by the car outside the apartment, Trevor is still up there trying to make Pete talk but it's not looking good man."

"Fuck," I curse under my breath. "I can't believe this. He must have known you were coming."

"Maybe," Tyler sighs disappointed into the phone. "The bastard got away, _again_."

I run my hand through my hair and shake my head. I should have known this was too good to be true.

"So, what now?" Tyler asks when I stay silent.

"Nothing," I give in, defeated. "What else can we do? Klaus has gone. It's over."

"We'll get another chance, Damon." Tyler tells me with hope. "We just need to be patient."

"Yeah, maybe." I mutter before hanging up. I throw my phone across the bathroom and slam my hand against the tiled wall in frustration.

We were so fucking close!

"Damon?" I hear Elena's groggy voice call out from my bedroom and I do my best to still my heavy breathing and keep my voice calm and normal.

"Yeah baby, just a second…" I go and pick up my phone and unclench my jaw and fists before taking a deep breath and walking back out the bathroom to see her small silhouette in the dark sat up in my bed.

I quickly rejoin her and get under the covers and bring her back down with me. "What are you doing awake?" I ask her quietly.

"I felt that you were gone…" she trails tiredly before letting out a yawn.

"Sorry, I just needed the bathroom." The lie rolls off my tongue but the last thing Elena needs right now is to know about Klaus.

Besides, it's not like there is anything to know now anyway.

"Go back to sleep ok, you need your sleep." I run my hand up and down her arm soothingly and when she finally falls back to sleep I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling with wide eyes knowing I probably won't be getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

"Are you sure you're ok to go back to school?" Damon asks me as he watches me brush my hair in my mirror.

"I need to, I can't miss anymore and besides what else would I do? Mope around here by myself all day and think about how much my life has been a lie? I did that yesterday, besides, I could do with the distraction." I look at him through the mirror as he leans back against the headboard of my bed.

"Ok. But only if you're sure."

"I am, I promise." I reassure him before adding a touch of makeup. Once I'm done I stand up and look around for my shoes before placing them on. "Ok, I'm done. You ready?"

"Yep." Damon jumps off my bed and we go down to my car, waving a quick goodbye at Jenna on the way.

We fight over the radio just like we always do, Damon wanting to listen to depressing old rock music while I much prefer cheesy pop or the latest chart songs. In the end, I win, just like I always do but we're interrupted by the ringing of Damon's cell phone so I'm forced to turn the volume down.

"Aren't you going to get that?" I take my eyes off the road for a second and glance at him after noticing that he's letting it ring.

"No it's fine, I'll call back later." He replies quickly.

"I don't mind," I turn the radio down some more and watch as he sighs before answering the phone.

"Hey, can't talk right now I'm in the car with Elena." I frown at his choice of words but try not to think too much of it. I watch from the corner of my eye as Damon stays silent and listens to whoever is on the other side of the line. "Well it doesn't matter now, does it?"

He sounds annoyed and I wonder if it's Giuseppe or Stefan.

"Yeah, thanks I guess anyway man. See ya." He hangs up and I wait for him to say something but it doesn't come. I pull into school and park my car and when we get out and he takes a hold of my hand in his bigger one, I decide my curiosity can't last any longer.

"Who was that?"

"Oh…" Damon seems surprised by my question. "My pal Trevor, the one visiting."

When I notice that Damon isn't going to say anything more I roll my eyes "And what did he want? You sound pissed."

"I'm not pissed," he replies but I can hear the stiffness in his tone as we walk through the crowded hallway. "He was just supposed to do me a favor but he had to go back to Duke." He explains simply as we approach my locker and I let go of his hand to unlock it and take out my books.

I smile when he wraps his arms around me from behind before pressing a slow open mouthed kiss against my neck. My eyes automatically close and my entire body shivers as he trails his mouth down to my collarbone before going back up my neck, his teeth lightly grazing my skin.

"Damon, we're in the middle of the hallway, anyone can see us…" I murmur with a shaky breath but part of me really doesn't want him to stop.

"So…" He mumbles against my skin before gripping my hips and turning me around, pinning me back against my locker as he presses his body against mine. "I'm only kissing my girlfriend. Is that a crime?" he raises his eyebrow cockily at me and I smirk before running my hands down his chest because when he does things like this and looks at me like _that_ it is anything _but_ innocent.

"No, I guess not." I gasp as his cold hands sneak under my shirt onto my bare skin and I can't contain myself any longer and crash my lips onto his.

Damon groans against me and his tongue immediately begs for entrance which I gladly accept, both of us fighting for dominance but he ends up winning just like always.

"You are so beautiful," he mumbles out between kisses and when he pulls away from me properly I frown at the serious look on his face "I love you, so much Elena. I never want to lose you, don't ever forget that, ok?"

"I won't." I reply, unsure where this sudden tense moment has come from. "I love you too…" his eyes are dark and his face is apprehensive and I lift up my hand and place it on the side of his face, my thumb stroking his cheek. "Damon? Is something wrong?"

He looks at me for a second before snapping out of his trance and shaking his head. "No, no, nothing's wrong." He takes a step back but his hands remain on my hips. "I'm sorry, I just…I got caught up in the moment that's all." He looks down sheepishly, almost like he is embarrassed, but I immediately pull his eyes back onto mine.

"Hey it's ok." I smile at him reassuringly before stepping forward and kissing him slowly. "You're not going to lose me ok?" I shake my head at him lightly before pecking him on the lips again. "Geez, you really think you can ever get rid of me? You're stuck with me Salvatore, whether you like it or not!"

He chuckles softly and my heart flutters at the sound and I giggle when his hands tickle my sides for a second before he kisses the tip of my nose. The bell rings loudly interrupting us and I sigh in annoyance before shutting my locker.

"Come on, I'll walk you to class Miss Gilbert." Damon bends down a little and offers out his hand like he is asking me to dance and I roll my eyes and shove him slightly but take his hand anyway, because like I'd ever _not_.

He walks me to my classroom and kisses me goodbye and just as I'm about to walk inside a loud voice shouting my boyfriend's name stops me and I turn around to see Tyler Lockwood rushing towards us.

"Damon!" he jogs towards us and I frown when I notice the cuts and bruises on his face but then I remember he was with Damon last night so he probably got involved in the same fight with Kol's friends. "We need to talk, _now_."

"Not now, Lockwood!" Damon snaps at him in annoyance before turning back to face me. I frown at the tension that has suddenly surrounded us and I look at my boyfriend concerned.

"Damon?"

His face looks panicked and this only builds my concern and suspicion. Something is definitely going on here. "Just go to class, Elena, before you get into trouble." He tries to push me inside the room but I pull my arm out of his grasp in annoyance.

"Why are you trying to get rid of me?" I snap.

"I'm not!" He defends himself before glancing back at Tyler for a second then back to me, his face softening. "Look, I promise I'll tell you everything later. Just go inside." There is a seriousness to his tone that makes me want to argue with him further because I know for sure that he has definitely been hiding something.

Before I can say anything though my teacher walks towards us and asks impatiently if I'm going to join them in class, and since he doesn't sound very happy and gives Damon and Tyler the biggest glares ever I don't have a choice but to do as he says and go inside.

I shoot a look at Damon though behind my shoulder to warn him that this conversation is certainly not over.

* * *

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I hiss at Tyler furiously as I grab him by the arm and shove him into an empty classroom.

"Whoa!" Tyler spins around on his feet "What the fuck is your problem, man?!"

"My problem? I told you to leave Elena out of this! She's not fucking stupid! She knows something is up now because of that shit you just pulled!" I'm so fucking frustrated and angry, I clench my fists tight by my side and I wonder how all this went to shit.

This is all down to Klaus and I hate it.

"Oh come on, just put on your charm and spin her a lie! She'll buy it easy." He shrugs casually with a smirk but when he notices my fierce glare it stops.

"Are you going to tell me what was so fucking important that you needed to talk to me about or have you just come to piss me off?" I snap at him impatiently.

Tyler rolls his eyes at my attitude but answers anyway. "Trevor got through to Pete, I don't know how but he did. He said that Klaus left Duke like 30 minutes before we got there and he didn't have much money on him when he did."

"So? We already figured out that you just missed him! What's your point? Klaus is still fucking gone!"

"But he can't have gone _far_, Damon." Tyler tells me seriously. "How is he supposed to get anywhere with no money? The chances are he's still in North Carolina, hell he is probably still in Durham."

His words run around my head, clouding my thoughts because he does have a point. If Klaus had run out of money, the chances are he didn't get very far last night. He's probably lying low somewhere near Duke before finding a way to leave.

"So, what do you say? Fancy a road trip? I mean I've just got back, but I'd be more than happy to go back to Duke. Trevor already said we could crash at his place with him and Rose, it could be fun despite the obvious reasons we're going."

I frown at his words. "Nothing has changed since last night, Tyler, I can't leave Mystic Falls right now."

"Damon, _come on_ man."

"No." I shake my head. "I can't do this Tyler. I'm done chasing loose ends, last night was different, we knew where he was but I'm not going to go to another state to chase shadows. I spent months doing it before and I won't go back to that, I can't."

I spent so many months on my own travelling around the USA, literally chasing Klaus' shadow, always one step behind and it drove me around the bend.

I almost died in a cold back lane in Ohio because I drove myself crazy and I was so angry and depressed and in such a bitter dark place. I won't go back there. I can't.

"It'll be different this time," Tyler tries to convince me but I shake my head.

"Until we know for sure where Klaus is, I don't want to hear his name again. You hear me? And I think you should do the same. We can't obsess over this. I won't lose Elena over this."

"This is _so_ much bigger than your girlfriend, Damon!"

"Not anymore." I tell him honestly. "There was a time when I would have risked _everything_ to find Klaus, and if you asked me this a couple of months ago I wouldn't have hesitated to go with you, but I can't now. I'm not going to fuck up my life looking for someone who we might never be able to find!"

"You're giving up!" Tyler is getting frustrated with me I can tell, and sometimes I forget that I'm not the only one Klaus fucked over. Tyler has a bullet wound scar on his shoulder to prove it.

"I'm not giving up!" I argue, my voice rising slightly. "I despise Klaus, I want to hurt him more than just the way he hurt us but that doesn't change the fact that if we continue to chase him like this he is only ruining our lives further! Don't you see, Tyler? He's playing us! We've waited this long, we can wait a little longer. Let's be smart with this."

"And what if we never find him?"

I shrug and sigh, running a hand through my hair. "Then we'll move on with our lives and Klaus will probably still be running, which means he'll never be happy."

Tyler looks at me carefully. "And then we'd have won." He says with realization.

"I'm not planning on losing this war, Lockwood. I never intended to from the start and nothing has changed." I take a step forward seriously. "Klaus Mikaelson will never beat me, and I'm going to win one way or another. Whether he knows it or not, it doesn't matter, all that matters is that _we_ know it."

"And if we do find him?" Tyler asks curiously.

"Then we'll _deal_ with him."

Tyler smirks at me and nods his head. "I'll call Trevor then, tell him we're not coming."

* * *

I forgot how much I hate Tuesdays. I don't share a class with Damon all morning and then at lunch time I agreed to sit with the gang every week, and since Stefan is part of that, Damon always chooses not to join us.

I try to make an excuse as the bell rings signalling lunch time but Caroline loops her arm through mine and drags me towards the cafeteria without a choice.

I'm still itching to know what is going on with my boyfriend and what has got him acting so tense and shifty, because if he thinks I haven't noticed then he's an idiot. Besides, the whole thing with Tyler just confirmed my suspicions that there is something going on that he is not telling me about and I'm guessing it has something to do with the bruise on his face and the cut on his lip.

I try my best to listen to everyone; Bonnie and Matt are telling a story about something funny that happened in their chemistry class and I'm trying to pay attention but my mind keeps going back to Damon.

What is he up to?

I hope it's nothing bad, he's done so well to stay out of trouble lately at school and I swear to God if Tyler Lockwood has roped him back in to stupid gang stuff again then he will have me to deal with!

"Elena?" Matt waves his hand in front of my face and my eyes widen immediately being brought back to the table. "Are you ok?" he asks amused.

"Yeah, sorry…" I trail and notice that everyone is looking at me. "What?"

"I asked if you were going to the Mikaelson charity ball this weekend?" Caroline asks again impatiently "We need to go shopping for our dresses!"

"Oh, um, I don't know." I frown. A party at the Mikaelson mansion is not exactly my idea of fun. I can't stand Kol and Rebekah isn't my favorite person either.

"Oh come on Elena, even _Bonnie_ is coming!"

"Hey!" Bonnie frowns and swots Caroline on the arm.

"It's a Founding Family event," Stefan speaks up and I realize this is the first time we have spoken since I told him off at the lake house. "A Gilbert should be there."

"And I'm sure Jeremy has already picked out his tux." I roll my eyes at him before turning back to Caroline. "I'll see how I feel and will talk to Damon about it." And at that moment I look up as one of the doors to the cafeteria opens and Tyler walks in, Damon following closely behind. "Excuse me," I stand up quickly and walk towards them, Tyler seeing me and immediately walking away leaving Damon alone.

"Hey," he greets me with a smile and leans down to kiss me. I allow it but when he tries to deepen it I pull away.

"Nah uh," I shake my head and pat his chest. "We need to talk." I tell him seriously and watch as he sighs loudly.

"Not here," he looks around and his gaze stops at Kol's table. I follow his gaze and sigh, because just like I expected this is about the Mikaelson's.

"Damon," I turn back to face him and look at him worriedly. "Please don't tell me you're getting involved in _that_ whole thing again?"

He grabs my arm and pulls me to the side away from the nearest tables. "Look, I promise I will tell you everything after school. We just can't talk about this now where anyone can hear us." He places his hands on each side of my face. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure, Damon? Because this doesn't look good to me, and you keeping secrets from me doesn't make me feel any better." I can't help but feel anxious and worried. After everything that came out between him and Stefan at the cabin, I'm worried he's going back to doing stupid things to distract him from his feelings.

He's done it before, why wouldn't he do it again?

"Yes." He answers firmly. "And I'm sorry if you think I'm keeping secrets from you, you've had a lot going on these past couple of days, I'm just trying not to add to that."

"Hiding things from me isn't doing me any favors."

"I know, I'm sorry." He seems sincere and I sigh and give in, placing my hands on his hips and stepping closer. "I gotta go though," he tells me and when he notices the frown back on my face he immediately smiles "Elena, baby, stop worrying, it's nothing sketchy I promise! I just forgot to do my homework that's in for next period, so I need to go to the library."

"Ok, fine, I believe you." And I do. Damon has never lied to me before, I don't think he's about to start. Whatever is going on with him right now, he's just kept it from me, he's not lied about it.

"Good." He leans down and kisses my forehead and hesitates before leaving and turns back to face me "I mean, I probably won't finish in time…I'll be there _all_ lunch time." He says in a sad tone and I immediately roll my eyes because I know his game.

"_Yes_ Damon, you can have a look at my homework, but only if you promise not to completely copy it!" I shake my head at him as he smirks and nods his head.

"Pinky promise," he holds his little finger out and I roll my eyes before locking my own with his anyway.

"Come on, it's in my bag." I pull him towards the table and he chuckles behind me.

"You're a star, Gilbert!" he grins at me as we reach my table and I dig through my bag. Damon greeting everyone with a quick hello but purposely ignoring his brother who is watching with a glare.

"There you go," I hand him my notepad. "I'll see you in class next?"

"Of course," he leans down and kisses me slowly on the mouth before pulling away with a grin. "See you then," he says quietly before squeezing my hand and wondering off.

I watch him go and when he leaves I turn around and sit back down, hoping that Damon won't break his promise and tell me the truth tonight about what is going on with him.

* * *

After school, Damon comes straight over to my house and we go straight to my room. I don't want any distractions and I'm not surprised that it's Damon who is the one who is trying to cause them.

"Nope! No making out until you tell me the truth, Damon!" I shove him off of me as he tries to pepper kisses up my neck towards my lips and he attempts to push me down onto my bed but I hold my ground and push him off me, watching as he groans in annoyance and sits up on my bed letting out a sigh.

"Fine. But you're not going to like it," he replies meekly, a guilty look on his face and suddenly I start to feel angry.

"You told me that I had nothing to worry about!"

"You don't!" he argues "At least…not anymore."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask confused and when he shifts on the bed slightly and looks away I know that whatever it is, it isn't good. "_Damon_."

"Last night, my old friend Trevor came here to tell me something."

"What?"

He turns his head to look at me and I can see the guilty look on his face. "He told me he knew where Klaus was."

I think my heart literally stopped for a second. "But…but…how?" I stutter.

Oh God. This is not good. This is not good at all.

"That doesn't matter now, he's gone, Elena. He must have known someone tipped us off because he left."

I frown confused. "How do _you_ know that?" I ask confused then a rush of realization crosses me. "Oh my god, please do not tell me you went chasing after him!" I jump off my bed to my feet and start to pace up and down. "Damon he is _dangerous_!"

Damon immediately follows my lead and stands up. "I didn't go, Elena!" he defends himself immediately and I stop walking and turn to face him. "I'm not going to lie to you, I _wanted_ to go, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave you, I couldn't screw up everything!"

I let out a sigh of relief and nod my head. "Good, you see, you can be the better man, Damon."

"You won't be saying that when I tell you everything else."

He looks down guiltily and I take a step closer. "Damon? What did you do?"

He lets out a dry laugh and shakes his head. "I didn't _do_ anything, Elena! That's the problem! I _wanted_ to! I even planned with Tyler and Trevor to bring Klaus back here to Mystic Falls! Because I _wanted_ to get revenge on him but at the same time I _wanted_ to stay here with you! Don't you see? I almost put you in danger!" he runs his hand through his hair frantically "I'm an idiot! I'm selfish! What was I thinking? Klaus can't come back to Mystic Falls, I shouldn't have risked you like that and I'm _so sorry_." He grabs my hands and I look at him shocked.

"What were you planning on doing to him, Damon?"

"I don't know," he has tears in his eyes now "All I know is that I wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt me."

"You can't go on this way. Klaus is gone; you can't go back to chasing after him!" I tell him, frustrated that he was willing to risk everything over Klaus Mikaelson.

Risk his future.

_Our_ future.

"I know that _now_!" he holds onto my hands tighter. "But you don't know how _hard_ it is! I have Tyler and Trevor and all my old friends wanting me to want what they want but all I can think about is _you_! I told Tyler that we should let Klaus come to us, that we'd already won! But honestly, I don't believe that, I don't want that! Not if it brings him to you!" his breathing is uneven and I watch as his eyes dart around frantically.

"Damon, calm down." I bring his hands up my lips and kiss his knuckles softly but it doesn't work.

He shakes his head. "You don't get it, Elena! I feel like I'm doing one thing but thinking another! I'm _stuck_! I want to find Klaus but I don't want to leave you! Don't you see my dilemma? This is my problem! I can't let go!"

"Hey, listen to me!" I let go of his hands and bring my hands to his face pulling his head back towards me. "Damon, listen to me!" I say firmly. "What you're feeling, it's _ok_. You never got closure; you spent months chasing after Klaus only to never find him. I understand that, ok? This is a good thing; you're admitting to yourself that you have a problem with letting go, that's a _good_ sign. You didn't leave with Tyler, as much as you wanted to, you _didn't_."

"Elena, I can't promise you that if I find out where Klaus is again that I won't go after him. If I promised you that, I would be lying to you." His voice is shaky and I run my thumbs over his cheeks.

"And if that happens then we'll deal with it." I tell him calmly. "You're being honest with me now, that's all that matters, Damon. You didn't lie to me."

"I can't lie to you," he whispers quietly. "You're Elena."

I smile at his words because he says it with such innocence and truth that it literally hurts my heart.

"But you do need to find a way to move past this," I tell him honestly. "If this comes up again, I can't lose you, Damon." I tell him fearfully. "If you do something stupid…you could get arrested or worse…"

"I know." He places his hands on top of mine that are still on his cheeks. "I'm sorry; I'll try to move past this, ok? If he comes up again, I will try my hardest not to go looking for him. The weird thing is, as much as I want to hurt him; I also never want to see him again."

"And you won't have to. Klaus isn't stupid enough to come back to Mystic Falls and I'll fight you so hard if you think about leaving to go find him."

He nods his head and I wrap my arms around him and pull him against me in a hug. "It's going to be ok, I promise you. You'll get past this, you'll let go. It may take a few more months, maybe even years, but soon Klaus Mikaelson will be nothing but a distant memory."

He nods against my shoulder and I kiss the top of his head while running a hand through his hair soothingly.

"Thank you," he whispers against me and holds onto me tighter. "I don't know what I'd be doing right now if it wasn't for you."

"It hasn't even been a year, you just need time. That's it, I promise you, it will get better. You won't feel this way forever." I lift his head up from my shoulder and look at him with a smile. "We have a future, we won't let Klaus ruin it."

"He won't." he agrees with me before leaning forward and kissing me softly.

A quick knock on my door interrupts us and I mutter in annoyance before pulling away from Damon and turning to face it. "Come in," I sigh and watch as Damon runs a hand down his face to compose himself.

"Hey," A nervous looking Jeremy stands in my doorway and I stand up when I notice how anxious he looks.

"What's up Jer?"

"We have a…um…visitor." He glances between me and Damon for a second before landing his gaze back on me.

"Who?"

"Uncle John."

My stomach drops.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! **

**I know a lot of you are concerned about the Damon/Klaus situation, and that he's going to do something stupid, but it's a massive struggle for Damon because he wants to let go and move on and be happy with Elena but he's never really gotten closure over the shooting thing. Like he said to Elena, he feels one thing then does another, he's stuck. That's why his conversation with Elena and Tyler were so different, when he's with his friends/old gang, he's back to the old Damon in the sense that he wants revenge, although he has matured since understands that he can't go chasing after Klaus anymore. But then when he's with Elena he just wants to forget all about Klaus and move on. **

**He's struggling to find the balance. I just wanted to explain all this, I mean you can take it either way you want, but that's what I was thinking when writing this chapter :) hope that helps! **

**There's still some flashbacks to come from the aftermath of _that_ night but it won't be for another couple of chapters yet!**

**Thank you again for reading and most of all for reviewing! You're all awesome and you really help me keep this story going!**

**Until next time folks :) **


	27. Chapter 27

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

* * *

"What? He's here _now_?" Damon glances at me and reaches over to take my hand but I'm frozen to the bed so just let him hold it.

I'm not ready for this.

"Yeah." Jeremy walks further into my room towards me. "Elena, I can tell him to leave."

I shake my head in protest and go to speak but no words come out.

"What does he want?" Damon squeezes my hand tightly and I finally feel back in my body and hold onto his tightly, his thumb tracing up and down my knuckles.

"Elena I'm sorry," Jeremy kneels down in front of me and I frown at him confused. "I saw him in The Grill after school and he was asking how you were, I got angry and it just…came out, I'm so sorry."

"What?!" Damon hisses at him angrily "You _told_ him?" he stands up and pulls Jeremy with him by grabbing him by the collar of his t-shirt and that immediately brings me back to my senses. "What the hell is wrong with you? You know Elena needs more time to get her head around this!"

"Damon don't," I pull on his arm and he reluctantly loosens his grip on Jeremy who shrugs him off with a glare. I turn to face my brother and try to strain a smile but I think it comes out more like a grimace. "It's ok, it's not your fault." I reach my hand out and touch his arm for a second before letting go. "I guess I should go down there?"

"Only if you want too," Damon presses his hand on my cheek "There's no pressure."

"Elena," All three of us snap our heads to turn to face John who is now standing in my doorway.

"What are you doing up here?!" Jeremy shouts at him angrily. "I told you to wait downstairs!"

"Elena," he steps in the room and walks towards me but Damon immediately stands in his way so they are literally toe to toe.

"Hey, you can't just barge in here!" Damon glares at him icily.

"Back off Salvatore, this has nothing to do with you! This is a family matter and I'd prefer it if you'd leave."

"Oh so family matters to you now does it?" Damon challenges him, refusing to back down.

"Elena please, just let me explain things to you," John looks over Damon's shoulder to me and I run a shaky hand through my hair.

"Elena you don't have too," Jeremy walks around the pair to stand next to me.

"No it's ok," I give in with a sigh and Damon turns around to face me sceptically. "I'll be fine." I tell him seriously.

"Thank you," John smiles at me gratefully but I shake my head.

"I'm not doing this for _you_." I tell him firmly because I need to make myself clear. "I need answers, and apparently you're the only one who can give them to me."

"Are you sure, Elena?" Damon stands in front of me and takes one of my hands in his. "I can kick him out."

"Damon," I smile softly at him because I know that he really would, and would probably take great pleasure in doing so. "I promise I'll be ok. I need to do this. I'll call you, ok?"

He sighs and looks at me unsurely for a moment before nodding his head. He leans down and kisses me softly on the lips before pressing a peck on my forehead and turning his attention to Jeremy.

"Come on Little Gilbert, I'll treat you to dinner at The Grill."

"What? No, I'm staying here!"

"It wasn't a question." Damon puts his hand on Jeremy's back and practically pushes him towards the door. "Let's go. _Now_." I watch as my boyfriend pushes him out of the room and sends me one last supportive smile before leaving and I start to feel sick again.

"You're taste in boyfriends has changed drastically from the last one," John comments in a light tone and I immediately glare at him. "Ok, sorry." He holds his hands up in defence.

"Let's just get this over with," I sit down on my bed and watch as he goes over to sit on the stool by my dressing table, keeping plenty of distance between us.

"What do you want to know?" he asks me casually and I frown at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious? I've just found out that you're my biological father and that's your opening line?! Why don't _you_ tell me _everything_." I look at him in annoyance. "How am I supposed to know what to ask you? I don't know anything!"

"I'm sorry," he shakes his head like he's irritated with himself. "Look, Elena, this is really difficult, you're going to have to bear with me."

I scoff and shake my head and stand up. "I knew this would be a waste of time, close the door on your way out."

"No Elena," he stays seated and raises his arm. "Please, sit back down. I promise I will explain everything to you."

I sigh and reluctantly do so and watch as he shifts slightly on the chair. He runs a hand down his face before continuing. "The summer before my senior year, I met this girl on vacation in California, we hit it off straight away and I think you know what kind of relationship we had. We had fun, all summer, we spent almost every day together and then September came around and I left to go back to Mystic Falls and she left to go back to Georgia, where she was from, and that was that."

"Except it wasn't." I interrupt for him and he nods his head slowly.

"I hadn't even turned 18 yet, I was enjoying my senior year with all my friends. It was just another normal day in my life when I had just finished football practise and I got a call from Grayson," he looks over at me and I'm shocked by the softness in his eyes. I've never seen him look like this before. "He told me I needed to come straight home, and when I got there…there was a baby…_you_. They told me that a young girl had come looking for me, said that the baby was mine, which she was, _is_, and that she couldn't look after her. I was 17 years old, Elena, I was scared and young and immature! I knew that Grayson and Miranda were trying so hard for a baby of their own and it just seemed like the right thing to do."

I wipe a tear from my eye that I didn't even know had fallen and I look away, this is too much.

"Who is she?" I break out, my voice croaky and quiet. John looks up at me and even though I think he knows who I mean, he waits for confirmation. "The girl you met that summer. What's her name?"

"That's not important, Elena."

"Tell me!"

"Belle, he name was Belle." John tells me "I don't know her last time, it really was just a summer fling, Elena, I'm sorry but that's the truth."

"Ok fine. You can go now."

"Elena-" he stands up as I do.

"No!" I cut him off "You met a girl, had a summer fling, got her pregnant, she abandoned me, you gave me away to your brother. I think I got it."

"There is so much more we need to discuss!"

"I don't want to hear anymore!" I shout at him tearfully. "I know my Mom and I know my Dad, and you're not him, nothing is going to change that!"

"I'm not trying to change that, Elena. I get it, they raised you, they are your parents but biologically, I _am_ your father."

"No, you're my uncle." I shake my head. "Please, just go. I've heard all I need to know and I can't listen to any more right now."

I watch as his shoulders deflate and he slowly nods his head. "Ok," he walks towards my bedroom door before turning around to look at me. "I love you, Elena, no matter what, please know that." He looks at me and when I don't say anything he sighs and leaves.

I watch him go before falling back onto my bed, a sob escaping me and I lie down into my pillow and just cry.

* * *

"Man I don't think it's a good idea leaving Elena alone with him." Jeremy whines for the fiftieth time in the last 10 minutes and I swear to God I'm about 10 seconds away from pushing him in front of traffic.

Luckily for him, we arrive at The Grill and I just roll my eyes and walk inside. "Look, she needs to do this. I'm not happy about it either, I'd rather be back there with her but this was going to happen sooner or later. Now what to do you want to eat, you have 20 seconds to decide."

"You're buying me dinner?" he asks me amused and I roll my eyes.

"10 seconds."

"Fine, chili fries. But I'll warn you now; I have a girlfriend and you're dating my sister so don't get any ideas." He chuckles at me because he actually believes that he is funny so I punch him in the arm for good measure and he groans loudly in pain and rubs it, his face scrunched up.

"Find us a table idiot," I shake my head at him and walk over to the bar, ordering us some food and drinks and when I turn around I see that he is sat in a booth with Bonnie.

"I didn't feel safe sitting with you on my own so I got us a chaperone." Jeremy smirks at me but I just glare at him and sit down across from the two.

"Whatever, here." I slide him his glass of coke across the table "Sorry witchy, didn't get you one."

"That's fine, Damon, I'm good." She shakes her head at me with a smile while motioning to the glass in front of her. "So, what are you two doing here together without Elena?" she asks suspiciously

"She's doing homework-" I say just as Jeremy also opens his big stupid mouth, _again_.

"She's talking to John-"

"Dude!" I look at him in disbelief "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you incapable of keeping secrets?"

"What?" Jeremy asks innocently. "Bonnie _knows_ what's going on, it's no big deal and Elena would have told her anyway."

I roll my eyes because that is _so_ not the point right now.

"Do you think she'll be ok?" Bonnie asks me and I can hear the concern in her tone.

"I hope so," I force a smile but it's strained and I sigh before taking a sip from my drink. Wondering how long Elena's chat with her daddy dearest is going to take.

"She's strong, I'm sure she'll be fine." Bonnie tells us both reassuringly and I nod my head, because it's true. Elena is strong.

Stronger than anyone I know anyway.

We make small pointless talk until our food comes and I eat my wrap as Jeremy wolfs down his fries. Once we finish I go and get some more drinks, buying Bonnie one this time too because I can be a gentleman when I wanna.

"Wait," Jeremy speaks up after a few moments of silence. "What are you doing here on your own?"

Bonnie shifts on her seat awkwardly and looks around The Grill for a second. "I'm uh…I'm supposed to be on a date." She answers stiffly and I notice that Jeremy freezes and I watch confused as his entire body tenses and he clenches his fists on the table.

"And is he a ghost? Or is he wearing Harry Potter's invisibility cloak?" I question amused and Bonnie looks at me with a glare.

"_No_, Damon, he stood me up, I guess." She shrugs like it's no big deal but I can tell that she's bothered.

"Urgh, well then he was probably a jackass anyway. You can do so much better." I say back casually and watch as she looks up at me surprised but I turn my head away and take a sip from my drink.

"Yeah," Jeremy agrees with me after finding his voice again. "What an idiot, he has no idea what he's missing out on." He says softly and I watch as Bonnie turns to face him with a shy smile.

"Thank you," she says quietly and I watch confused as Jeremy smiles back, both of them getting lost in each other's gaze for a second.

Hmm, _interesting_.

"Hi guys!" Caroline approaches us cheerily and I immediately groan and roll my eyes. "Shut up Damon." She scolds me before I can even say anything and slides along next to Bonnie, it's then when I notice Matt and _Stefan _walking towards us too and I realize Caroline has brought the entire Scooby Gang along, great!

"And that is my cue," I stand up as Stefan gets closer.

"Damon, you don't have to go." Bonnie offers me with a soft smile but I shake my head.

"Oh I do, witchy."

"Well, thanks for the drinks." She smiles at me and I nod my head before I walk past my brother, making sure to knock into him on my way, _accidently_, of course, and wonder around to the other side of The Grill and I'm not surprised to see some of my boys hanging out around the pool table, Vicki Donovan and some of her friends are also there but I guess I can tolerate her for one night.

"Evening gents," I greet them with fist bumps.

"Damon, not gonna say hello?" Vicki stands up and walks towards me as Shaun hands me a pool cue.

"Nope." I roll my eyes at her and turn my back before leaning down and taking my shot, immediately potting a ball.

"Nice shot," she runs her hand down my back and I frown confused and turn around to face her in annoyance.

"What are you after?"

"What?" she twirls her fingers through her hair "I'm not after anything." She bites on her bottom lip.

"Are you forgetting that I dated the bitch who taught you everything you know?" I point out to her and watch as her façade falls.

"You suck, Damon, you know that?" I shrug and push past her, watching as Shaun takes his shot and misses. I smirk at him before leaning down, and Vicki immediately bends down beside me. "But luckily for you, I have a thing for bad boys."

I ignore her and take my shot, missing and I slam my cue down in annoyance and straighten up and turn to face her. "I'm not playing games with you Vicki, so tell me, what do you want?"

"Fine," she huffs "I heard you know where Klaus is."

"Ssh!" I step forward and grab her arm, pulling her away from the table. "Who the hell told you that?"

"I saw Trevor when he came back to town," she shrugs like it's no big deal. "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone. But I want to know."

"Well you're too late, Klaus is gone."

"Gone? How? Where?"

"I don't know Vicki; I left my crystal ball at home!"

"Stop being an ass, Damon! Katherine was my friend; I want to get back at Klaus just as much as you do!"

"I'm not talking about this with _you_." I spit at her furiously.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I'm just not, now back the hell off before I make you, Vicki, and don't think I won't."

"Oh please," she scoffs at me "I'm not scared of you anymore Damon, ever since you started dating Princess Elena you lost your balls!"

I grip onto the cue tightly and turn to walk back to the table.

"Katherine will be turning in her grave right now watching what you've turned into Damon Salvatore!" she calls after me but I ignore her but she keeps going "I wonder what Saint Elena would think if she knew the real you? Maybe someone should inform her of all your devious deeds you've done here over the last four years? I bet that'll make her question her decision to swap Salvatore's." I swing around and take three large strides back towards her. "Maybe she and I should have a chat."

I grab her arm, gripping it tightly and pull her against me and hiss quietly into her ear. "Don't think I won't end you, Vicki, because I will if you dare to even think about bringing Elena into this! You stay the fuck away from her or I swear to God I will _destroy_ you." I squeeze her arm even tighter and she winces. "If you want to know about Klaus, you speak to Tyler, _not_ me, but don't say a fucking word about it in public places like this! If Kol finds out about this then it'll start a war and I will personally hold _you_ responsible!" I let go and watch as she takes a step back and looks at me with shaken eyes.

I stare at her for a moment before turning around and walking back to the pool table where Shaun and some of the other boys are watching us curiously.

"Wow," Vicki walks back over to her spot by the stools next to the pool table where the other girls are and looks at me. "Maybe I was wrong, maybe you haven't really changed at all."

I ignore her, my hand gripping onto my cue tightly and take a shot.

It goes in.

* * *

Looking at Caroline's text telling me to meet her at The Grill because apparently I've gone back to neglecting my friends again and since I already know that Damon and Jeremy are there, I decide to make my way over. I need to take my mind off that conversation with John.

I still have so many questions I need to ask him, so many things I need to know but I couldn't handle anymore tonight. I'm not ready.

It's _so_ much to get my head around.

Just the thought of my Mom and Dad not actually being my Mom and Dad make me feel sick.

I push those thoughts out of my head as I push open the door to The Grill and look around, I eventually spot my friends sitting at a booth and walk over.

"Hey," I greet them with a smile and a wave.

"Elena!" Caroline pulls me in for a hug and pulls my arm to sit down next to her. "You came!"

I look around the booth and frown confused when I spot my brother but not my boyfriend. "Where's Damon?" I ask him and he shrugs and looks around.

"It's about here somewhere…" he trails and when I notice Stefan sat on Caroline's other side I immediately know why.

"I'm gonna go find him," I go to stand up but Caroline pouts and holds onto my arm.

"Nooo, Elena, come on! I thought you came to hang out with your friends!"

"I'm just going to say hi," I roll my eyes slightly because I know that Damon will not come back to join us if Stefan is here. "I'll come back."

"You better!" she warns me while wiggling her eyebrows and I can't help but laugh.

"I will Care, see you in a bit." I leave the booth and walk around the crowded bar and then stop when I spot him by the pool tables.

With his old gang.

I walk slowly towards him, unsure of whether or not this is innocent. I mean, it looks innocent, they are just playing pool.

Vicki Donovan spots me first. "Well well, Elena Gilbert." She smirks at me and I glare back because I never liked her. When I was dating Matt she was always a bitch to me for no reason when I was nothing but nice to her.

Damon turns around and looks at me surprised. "Hey," he passes his pool cue to some guy I don't know and walks towards me, pulling me away from everyone. "What are you doing here?"

"Caroline wanted me to hang out, plus I knew you were here with Jer…"

"Don't worry, I fed him, made sure he ate all his vegetables." He smirks at me and I let out a small laugh and watch as his face turns serious. "Are _you_ ok?"

"Yeah," I nod my head "I just need to get my mind off it."

"Ok." He nods his head and wraps his arms around my waist. "Want to play? Don't worry, we don't have to play with those guys."

I look over his shoulder to see Vicki glaring at me and some of the others staring and I look back at Damon. "You're not…I mean…that…"

"Elena," his hands leave my waist to go on each side of my face. "Totally innocent, I promise. No Klaus talk, heck they don't even know about it, ok? I promise." He leans down and kisses me slowly and I wrap my arms around him tightly to deepen the kiss, his tongue begging for entrance and I gladly let him.

I pull away breathlessly and smile. "I trust you." I tell him sincerely and watch as his smile widens, I lean up and kiss him again before pulling away. "But I can't play; I told Caroline I would go sit with them…" I trail and watch as he nods his head in understanding. "Why don't you come?" I ask hopefully, taking his hands in mine and playing with his fingers.

"Elena, you know I'm not going to."

"You don't have to speak to him; you don't even have to look at him!"

"And if he says something, I'll snap. Look, I'm only just starting to get along with your friends, and I happen to actually kind of like Bonnie a _little_ bit, even if she does have judgy eyes," he smirks at me and I laugh. "The last thing you need right now is hot tub explosive Damon 2.0, you go back and enjoy being with your friends, take your mind off things. I'll hang back here until you're ready to leave."

"Will you stay over tonight?"

He smiles and nods his head "Of course," he lifts my hands up and kisses my fingers. "Now go on, get out of here beautiful before I change my mind!"

He smacks my backside and I squeal with a laugh and send him a mocking glare which he returns with a smirk and I shake my head at him before heading back to my booth, already feeling much better after just five minutes with Damon.

I go to walk back to my table but stop when I see Tyler Lockwood walk through the doors. I immediately walk towards him and grab his arm pulling him to the side.

"Hey!" he looks surprised by my appearance. "Elena? What's up?" he asks confused and a little startled, probably by the glare I am giving him right now.

"Damon told me about…_you know who_." I say while looking around because The Grill is busy and you never know who might be listening if that _name_ is spoken and draws attention to us. "I know you went looking for him, and that you tried to get Damon to join you, and I just want to tell you to leave him the hell out of it."

Tyler looks at me for a moment before a smile crosses his lips and he chuckles.

"This isn't funny, Tyler!"

"Damon's a big boy, Elena, he can look after himself, trust me."

"I know he can, I'd just prefer it if he didn't go running around to different states chasing after a psychopath who _shot_ him last year!" I hiss at him furiously. "

"Please, Damon can handle himself around Klaus." Tyler shrugs it off like it's no big deal. "He can take him, easily, I'd even put money on it."

"Tyler I'm being serious here!" I almost want to stomp my feet on the ground because he's not taking me seriously and it's really starting to piss me off. "I'm not just talking about him getting hurt; he could get arrested! He can't go to college if he's in a prison cell!"

Tyler sighs and runs his hand over his head. "Look Elena, it doesn't even matter, ok? He's gone, we lost him."

"For now!" I argue "Please Tyler, if you're a real friend, you'll leave Damon out of it from now on, let him move on."

"You think Damon will be happy if I find Klaus and don't tell him?" Tyler asks me in disbelief. "He'd kill me, Elena! Look, I'm sorry if I sound like I'm being an ass, but this whole Damon and Klaus thing goes back a long time, long before you came into his life and it's probably never going to stop until one of them is _gone_, one way or another."

That sentence literally hurts me and I take a step back, shaking my head. "Just leave him out of it Tyler, _please_."

"Is everything alright here?" I jump slightly as Stefan comes up behind me and I watch as Tyler shifts suspiciously on his feet.

"Fine," I wave Stefan off but he doesn't take the hint.

"It doesn't look fine, you look upset." He looks at me concerned before turning to look at Tyler with a scowl. "What the fuck have you done, Lockwood?"

"Back off Stefan!" Tyler glares at him before scoffing and shaking his head "You know what, whatever, I'm outta here!" he brushes past us and wonders off into the crowded Grill and I immediately wipe at my eyes.

"Elena," Stefan reaches his arm out to me, his tone soft and concerned but I immediately smack it away.

"Please don't."

He sighs and lets his arm drop to his side. "What's going on? What's Damon got you involved in?"

I look up at him in disbelief. "Jesus Christ, Stefan! You just can't give up can you? Damon hasn't done anything! Why do you always have to think the worst of him?"

"Well I'm sorry, but when I find you arguing with his best pal and almost in tears I'm going to assume it has something to do with Damon!"

"Well it doesn't." I reply coldly. "Just leave me alone."

"Fine," he holds his hands up in defense. "If that's what you want, sorry for being concerned about a friend." He huffs before turning around and walking off.

I sigh and watch him go, running a hand through my hair and thinking about what Tyler said.

_It's probably never going to stop until one of them is _gone_, one way or another._

I shake my head and try to snap out of it. Damon isn't worried right now so I shouldn't be either. Like Tyler said Klaus is gone, long gone hopefully!

I need to just get Damon through the rest of senior year, and then hopefully we can both get out of Mystic Falls and all the drama that comes with this town.

* * *

"Oh look, I win, _again_." I smirk at Tyler as I pot in the black ball and he rolls his eyes and passes his cue to one of the guys and I pass my mine over to Shaun, deciding I need a break from kicking everyone's ass.

"Lucky hit!" Tyler rolls his eyes at me and I chuckle.

"Sure."

"Whatever man, I'm going out for a smoke." He pats my back as he walks out the fire exit at the back and I walk over to the bench where my drink is resting and take a sip.

I stand alone for a couple of seconds, debating on whether or not to go and find Elena, despite her sitting with Stefan but before I get the chance to make my mind up Vicki walks over to me.

"You know, I thought you guys stuck together." Vicki runs her finger down my chest and I immediately grab it and push it away.

"Have you been popping your Mom's pills again?" I frown at her and roll my eyes. What is her problem tonight? "_Go away_."

She scowls at me and motions with her head towards the back door. "I'm talking about Tyler."

"What?" I'm getting impatient now. "What about him?"

"Well, I mean…I wouldn't want my best pal to be going off into dark back lanes by himself when he has Kol Mikaelson after him."

I freeze before taking a step towards her. "Vicki, what did you do?"

"I just thought that Kol should know that you guys were chasing his brother again," she shrugs casually with a smirk on her lips that makes her resemble Katherine. "Besides, it was getting a little boring around here and I want to see some _action_."

"You _stupid_ bitch!" I hiss at her furiously before turning on my heel and running through the back door and just like I was afraid of, there was Tyler getting his ass kicked, totally outnumbered by Kol and his buddies.

There is at least eight or nine of them.

"Hey!" I shout, drawing attention to myself. Kol stops kicking Tyler's stomach and turns around to face me with a grin.

"Evening Damon, such a _wonderful_ night isn't it." He sneers at me and I take a step closer.

"Oh I wouldn't try anything if I were you, wouldn't want you to end up like your buddy Lockwood here on the floor." He chuckles and kicks him again in the ribs for good measure and Tyler groans loudly in pain, gripping his stomach tightly as blood is already falling down his face. God knows what they did to him before I got here.

I take a step closer and that's when I notice the baseball bat in one of Kol's friend's hands.

Fuck.

"Going after my brother again? That was the _wrong_ move Salvatore. I heard all about Tyler's little trip to Duke last night looking for Klaus so I thought I would show him what happens when someone tries to hurt someone in my family." He walks closer to me and I clench my fists tightly, very aware of the fact that we are seriously outnumbered and that one of those morons has a bat.

Kol shoves me back slightly and I stumble a little but not enough to fall over. I glare at him furiously, trying to stop myself from just beating the crap out of him right now and then snapping his neck.

The thought has crossed my mind.

"I've tolerated you're existence these past few weeks, I stayed out of your way just like you stayed out of mine. I didn't even kick your ass for that stunt you pulled at Miss Mystic Falls to Rebekah. But going after Klaus? A step too far!" he spits out at me coldly before letting out a snicker and taking a step back. "Watch your back, Salvatore!"

He stalks off into the darkness, his buddies following and I immediately run towards Tyler and crouch down.

Shit, there is so much blood.

"My ribs," Tyler gasps out in between his shaky breaths. "I can't breathe."

"Oh and Damon!" Kol turns around at the top of steps and looks down at us with a snarl on his lips. I look up at him with a glare. my entire body shaking with rage. "In case _this_ wasn't obvious, you just started a war." He smirks at me before disappearing.

I look down at Tyler, his blood all over my hands and I realize that this is not good.

This is not good at all.

* * *

**And here they go again! **

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry there wasn't much Damon/Elena together in this one but I'm really going to get this story going now and they need to deal with their own issues. **

**Thanks for all your awesome reviews, seriously it really helps me keep this story going and I know I say this like at the end of every chapter and I sound like a broken record but I really do appreciate your comments and feedback, there is nothing better than reading your thoughts and opinions on a chapter! Sometimes I think you know this story better than I do! **

**You're all the best!**

**So yeah, until next time! :) **


	28. Chapter 28

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Just a short note, I can't remember if I mentioned this in a previous chapter but Alaric has no history whatsoever with Isobel/Miss Flemming in this fic, they are just colleagues. **

* * *

"It…hurts…" Tyler gasps out in between gasps of pain and I look around the deserted back alley way of The Grill in panic.

"I know man, you're gonna be alright." I try to tell him reassuringly and fumble around my jean pockets looking for my phone. I finally pull it out but Tyler lifts his arm up to stop me.

"You can't."

"I need to call an ambulance, Ty!"

He shakes his head in protest "No hospital," he coughs "Hospital…means police and…no…"

"You probably have broken ribs! We can't just ignore it!"

"Fine," he slowly tries to pull himself up and I wrap my arm around his back to help him. "But you drive me, we…we say that you found me…in the park…if you call an ambulance from here they can see…the CCTV camera footage…" he breathes out and motions to the small camera above The Grill's fire exit door, it only really shows the entryway but it's enough to see all of us there. "My car is parked up front." He wheezes out and I nod my head and jump to my feet.

"Ok, ok. I won't be long!" I take his keys and run around to the front of The Grill and find Tyler's car, I immediately go inside and drive back around to the back before running down the steps. "Ok, this is gonna hurt." I tell him honestly as I help him up and Tyler screams loudly in pain before panting heavily.

"Jesus Christ, he really did a number on you."

"It was…the bat…" Tyler wheezes "I could have…easily taken…them…without the bat…"

"Right," I chuckle despite myself and slowly help Tyler up the stairs and eventually to his car. I help him inside and he screams again in pain as he sits down and I run around to the driver's seat and immediately drive towards the hospital.

I drive quickly, risking yellow lights and only slowing down at stop signs. My hands grip the wheel tightly as I remember Kol's words and I try to push it out of my head and focus on Tyler because I don't want to think about what this all means.

We started a war with the Mikaelson's last year and look how that turned out.

"Ok, so we tell the hospital and the cops or whoever asks that you got jumped and you didn't see who did it?" I ask and Tyler nods his head before reaching into his pocket and handing me his phone.

"Here…get rid of this…say I got mugged."

"Good idea," I take the phone from him and immediately throw it out the window.

"Dude! What the fuck!" he shouts at me but then immediately regrets it because he roars in pain and starts coughing again.

"What?" I ask him casually. "You want it to be believable right? You were just gonna _find_ your phone again in a couple of weeks time with no damage or anything? _Yeah right_." I scoff and roll my eyes, not caring if he's pissed that I broke his phone. His Dad is the mayor, I'm sure he can afford a new one!

Once we get to the hospital I immediately run around and help Tyler out.

"Damon, Damon, wait." He holds his hand out to stop me. "Before…we go in there…you need to promise me that…you won't…tell…_anyone_…outside our boys about…this? Please…not even Elena."

I stay silent at his words before nodding my head. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain this to Elena anyway without worrying her; she doesn't need this right now. Plus, I do not want her involved in anything to do with this shit.

I'll be keeping her as far away as Kol as possible.

I'm going to hate lying to her but the less she knows about this the better it will be for her, no matter how mad she's going to be if she does find out.

* * *

I go to school the next day always keeping an eye on what was going on around me. I know that Kol isn't stupid enough to try anything with me here at school but after what happened to Tyler last night, I know I have to watch my own back.

I notice people staring at me more than usual though and I frown confused as I turn the corridor in the hallway and walk towards my locker and that's when I stop.

The word _'KILLER'_ is painted in large red letters across my locker.

I was wrong then. Kol is stupid enough to do something to me here.

I tighten my fists tightly and walk towards my locker, ignoring everyone watching me and whispering. I fling open my locker and pull out my books, my jaw clenched as I ignore the whispers of everyone and I feel sick when I hear someone mention Katherine's name.

"Damon!" I turn around to see Elena rushing towards me, her eyes darting around when she realizes people are watching. "What's going on? I just overheard someone talking about you and they…" she steps closer towards me and lowers her tone. "They said that you killed Katherine."

I cringe and my jaw tightens, before slowly shutting my locker door and Elena gasps when she sees the graffiti.

"Oh my god. What's going on? Damon?" her tone is fretful and worried and I look around to everyone staring before taking her hand in mine and pulling her along the corridor and outside to the back of the school next to the empty football field.

I let go of her hand and run it through my hair.

"Damon?" she steps towards me and places a hand on my hip. "Who put that on your locker?"

"Who do you think?" I shake my head and look around. "Fuck!" I hiss out in frustration.

"Kol?" she questions hesitantly and I slowly nod my head. "But why? Why would he do that? I don't understand…"

"I don't know, Elena!" I rant in frustration because I am _so_ close to just telling her everything that happened last night but then I think back to the promise I made to Tyler and I know that he's right. The less amounts of people who know about this the better.

"Why now?" she ignores my tone and then I watch as a look of realization crosses her face. "Do you think he found out about finding Klaus?" she asks worriedly and I shake my head with a shrug.

"I don't know, maybe…probably." I sigh and look away. Fucking hell. I can't do this.

"Oh god," Elena runs her hand through her hair before placing her hands on each side of my face and turning my head back to face her so her soft brown eyes are looking into my guilty ones. "Don't let him get to you, Damon. We can get through this; just ignore what everyone says, ok?"

"It's not that easy, Elena! Everyone now thinks I killed Katherine!"

"But you didn't! And you and I both know that, screw what everyone else thinks!" She tells me determinedly and I don't think I've ever felt so guilty for keeping what I know from her. "Damon?"

"Yeah," I sigh and slowly nod my head agreeing with her, placing my hands on top of hers on my cheeks and bring them from me before wrapping my arms around her waist. "God I don't deserve you." I bite on my lip and she looks at me confused.

"Don't push me away, Damon, don't let Kol get to you." She wraps her hand behind my neck and kisses me slowly.

I deepen the kiss hungrily because I missed her so much last night, I couldn't face going back to The Grill and spending the night with her knowing that I was keeping things from her, so I just sent a text saying that I wasn't feeling well and was going to call it a night.

She was disappointed but she understood of course, because she's Elena.

I pull away from the kiss and press another one to her forehead and let out a deep breath as the bell rings loudly signalling the start of class.

"Let's just get through today, you know what this town is like, there will be something else to talk about tomorrow." She tells me with a small smile and I slowly nod my head in agreement. "Let's go?" she grabs my hand links our fingers together and we walk through the empty hallways since class has already started.

"Elena," I hold her back for a second before we walk into the classroom. "I want you to stay away from Kol, ignore anything that he says." I tell her seriously and when she goes to speak I cut her off. "I'm serious, he wants a reaction, don't give him that."

She nods her head slowly and squeezes my hand and I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles softly before taking a deep breath.

As soon as I open the door to our first class the entire room goes silent and everyone looks up at me, the whispers immediately start and I look towards the back of the classroom to see Kol smirking at me.

"Sorry we're late." Elena apologizes to Miss Flemming who is looking at us with a weird expression on her face before she tugs on my hand and pulls me towards my desk, feeling every eye in the room watching my every move.

This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.

* * *

This hour is dragging more than usual; I glance to my right where Damon is sitting staring down at his textbook with a frown on his face, lost in thought, as Miss Flemming stands by the board talking away to everyone but I can't pay attention because all I can think about is what happened this morning and how it's going to affect Damon.

I can't believe Kol would spread these rumors, well actually, I _can_ believe it because it's Kol Mikaelson and he is the biggest asshole I have had the displeasure of ever meeting. I just hate it. I hate him.

Damon was in a good place, sure he had that mishap with Klaus, but we could have worked through that, now he has to deal with everyone whispering about him, speculating about him.

It seemed that everyone was finally over what happened last year with the shooting and now it's been brought all back up again, only this time, everyone is blaming my boyfriend.

Miss Flemming is explaining something about the human heart when Kol raises his hand and she looks over. "Yes Kol?"

"I have a question about the human heart," he asks and I can hear the cockiness in his voice and I turn around to face him with a glare before glancing back at Damon who clenches his jaw but doesn't turn around.

"Go ahead," she motions him to continue.

"What are the chances of survival from a bullet wound to the heart?" he asks with a smirk and people gasp and giggle in the class and I glance at Damon who grips onto his pen tightly.

"I uh…" Miss Flemming frowns and I'm guessing she's heard the rumor because I notice she glances briefly at my boyfriend "I don't see how this is relevant Kol." She tells him pointedly.

"Well why not? We're studying the human heart today, right?" he shrugs with a smirk. "I'm just curious…aren't you curious, Damon?"

Damon slams his fist down on his desk and turns around in his chair.

"Hey hey hey!" Miss Flemming quickly interrupts before he can say anything. "That's enough, Kol from now on I'd prefer it if you kept your questions to yourself, thank you." She tells him firmly before going back to whatever she was talking about before.

I turn to look at Damon who has his hands clenched and I can see how tense he is.

"Hey," I whisper and shuffle my desk closer to his discreetly. "Remember what you said, he wants a reaction."

He stays still for a moment before slowly nodding his head and he turns his head to face me with a strained smile.

"It's going to be fine," I say quietly, trying not to draw any more attention to ourselves. "Ok?"

"Ok." He mumbles quietly and except for a few more snarky comments from Kol, the rest of the lesson goes by without too much of a hitch.

The second the bell rings Damon jumps to his feet and storms out of the classroom, I look after him staggered because I have no idea what to do to help him right now.

"Damon!" I quickly chase after him, forgetting my books and follow him along the corridor, ignoring people's eyes on me and there whispers and eventually Damon stops at a quiet corner in the hallway where no one else is around. "You weren't going to wait for me?"

He runs his hand through his hair in agitation. "I needed to get the hell out of there!" he rants before turning around and slamming his fist into a random locker angrily.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" I reach my hand out and press it on his arm but he pulls it away and runs another hand through his messy hair.

"I can't stay here, Elena! Everyone thinks I'm a murderer! That I killed Katherine!" he pants breathlessly while trying not to raise his voice and draw any more attention towards us.

"Damon, I'm sure no one really believes it." I try to tell him reassuringly.

"Why the hell wouldn't they? They all know that I was there, they all I know that I'm trouble! Why wouldn't they believe it? _You_ did, my _brother_ did, so why the hell wouldn't they?!"

I freeze and step back like he's physically slapped me and I watch as a look of realization crosses his face. "No, Elena." He shakes his head quickly. "I didn't mean that."

"It's true though, isn't it?" I reply sadly, thinking back to the look on his face when I accused him of killing Katherine, then at the hospital when he told me what really happened that night and all that guilt that I carried around for weeks afterwards comes crashing back to me. "I was wrong, Damon, and I will never forgive myself for that."

He steps forward and grabs a hold of my hands. "Don't, it wasn't your fault. Look, I just…I need some space, ok?" his eyes are darting around and I sigh and nod my head sadly. "I promise I'm not shutting you out, or pushing you away, I just…I need to get out of here and be on my own."

"Ok." I nod my head, wanting to understand but knowing I'll never be able too. "I'll see you after school?"

"Yeah." He leans forward and kisses me softly before straining a smile and leaving. I watch him go with a sigh and walk back towards my previous classroom to get my stuff but stop when Caroline stands in front of me and pulls me into the girl's bathroom.

"Are you ok?" she asks sympathetically after checking that it's empty and I shrug tiredly.

"I guess so."

"I saw Damon's locker," she looks genuinely concerned. "I know you're worried about him, but he'll be ok. Don't use this as an excuse to forget about your own problems, Elena."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"Elena," she smiles sadly at me "I know you. You have so much going on right now in your life, the worst thing you could do right now is shut it out and pretend it's not happening. I know you're worried about Damon, but he'll be ok, I mean he's been used to dealing with Kol for years."

I shake my head. "That doesn't make it any easier for him, besides, it's different this time, Caroline."

"Why? Because of what happened to Tyler? I'm sure that's just a coincidence…" she tells me reassuringly but I have no idea what she's talking about.

"What?" I question her completely confused. "What happened to Tyler?"

"Damon didn't tell you?" Caroline asks surprised and I frown and shake my head. "He's in the hospital, he got mugged last night and they did him over pretty bad, they broke his ribs apparently."

My heart starts to pound and I realize that maybe there really is more to do this than just Kol randomly messing with Damon.

Why didn't he tell me?

"Elena," Caroline steps closer, probably seeing the expression on my face. "Don't over think this; it probably is just a coincidence."

I shake my head. "I had plans with Damon last night and he cancelled, said he wasn't feeling well and was going to have an early night. And Tyler is one of his only friends around here; you'd think it'd be something he'd mention to me! This isn't a coincidence Care, something is going on. He lied to me." My mouth opens in disbelief when I realize it.

Damon's never lied to me before.

"I gotta go…" I step back but Caroline quickly grabs my arm.

"Elena, don't do anything you might regret later."

"I'm not," I shake my head. "I left my stuff in biology, I need to go and get it. Damon obviously wants to keep me in the dark about this, why should I even bother trying to find out the truth? I _can't_ deal with any more people in my life lying to me!"

I leave the bathroom and walk through the hallway, yet again focusing on ignoring everyone's stares and whispers. My entire life has been based on a lie, and now the one person I could trust has been lying to me too?

I can't deal with this right now.

I knock on Miss Flemming's classroom door and slowly walk inside.

"Elena," she smiles at me "Come for your things?"

"Yeah," I answer meekly. "Sorry, I left in a hurry I forgot to grab them…" I walk towards my desk and when I turn around, books in hands I'm surprised to see Miss Flemming walking towards me.

"Are you ok?" she asks concerned. "I heard the rumors…"

"And that's all they are, rumors." I tell her firmly.

"I'm not one for gossip," she smiles softly at me "But you do seem upset."

I let out a dry laugh and shake my head. "I just…" I let the words trail off. "This is too much. I can't even walk through the hallway without people staring and whispering about me, about Damon. They think I can't hear them? I heard someone say that I could be next!" I shake my head in disbelief. "They don't know _anything_! Damon didn't kill Katherine! Why can't people just give us a break? Give _him_ a break." My eyes are stinging with tears and I realize I'm very close to crying.

I try to walk past her and quickly leave but she steps in front of me blocking my escape route. "Elena," she puts her hands on each side of my arm. "I…I know I'm only your teacher…but…I care about all my students, I care about you, and I don't like seeing you so upset and in distress. You have a free period now, right?" she asks and I nod my head, not even bothering to question how she knows this. "So do I," she smiles softly. "Why don't you hide out in here? I have some marking to do and no one else will be in here, at least then you can have an hour away from all the ignorant staring and mindless gossip."

I stay silent thinking about her words, I guess it would be more peaceful here than in the library where I was originally heading too.

"Ok." I nod my head in agreement and she squeezes my arm with a smile before walking back over to her desk. I take a seat and open one of my books, and attempt to study for a quiz I have later in the day but my mind keeps wondering to Damon and what is going on, and then to John and my parents.

I just want all of this to stop.

* * *

I walk into Tyler's hospital room without knocking and see him sat up on his bed playing with a phone.

"New phone," He holds it up with a smirk when he sees me and I chuckle and take a seat on the chair next to his bed.

"How are you?" I ask motioning to the big white bandages strapped around his rib cage.

"Oh you know, it hurts to breathe, to talk, to eat, to drink, but apart from all that I'm awesome." He grins and I shake my head with a smile.

"At least someone can be optimistic in all of this."

"Hey don't worry about Kol, he's a pussy." Tyler says casually. "He's all talk."

"Oh he's talk alright," I scoff. "He's told the entire school that I was the one who shot Katherine."

"What?" Tyler's eyes widen. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly. He even sprayed my wall with the word _killer_."

"That was very original of him." Tyler mutters sarcastically.

I sigh and run my hand down my face. "I was so close to just kicking his ass today at school," I admit "And if I did, I wouldn't have been able to stop."

"Then why didn't you?"

I shrug and lean back in the chair. "I don't know…I knew if I did then I'd be done for. I'd be expelled. Plus…Elena…"

Tyler nods his head in understanding before looking at me suspiciously. "You haven't told her about all of this have you?"

I shake my head. "No. But she's not stupid, she's going to figure out something is going on if Kol doesn't stop this, which knowing him, he won't."

"Look, I know it's hard, and I know you hate lying to her, but this is for the best, Damon." He tells me seriously. "No one else can know that this whole gang crap has started up again, you know what will happen. The safest thing for Elena is to be kept in the dark."

"I know that!" I reply in frustration "And I agree with you, I do! I just wish I didn't have to lie to her. This is affecting her too, in school today; she was getting all the stares and whispers just as much as I was."

"And that sucks, and a low move from Kol, but the more people involved in this the more people who are going to get hurt."

"No you're right. You are." I sigh and think back to Elena today, desperate to help _me_, even though she has so much to deal with in her own life right now. It sucks. "But what if she outright asks me? I mean, she's smart, she'll figure out that something is going on sooner or later, especially when she finds out you just happen to be in the hospital after being beaten up."

"Then you're going to have to deny it, no matter what she says, just deny it."

"It's not that simple, Tyler!" I argue "It's not that easy! I don't want to lie to her!"

"You're going to have to make it that simple, Damon. This is bigger than just you and Elena, this doesn't just affect _you_." He tells me seriously. "Kol has started something; he's not going to lay off us anytime soon! Not you, not me, not any of our boys."

"This is so fucked up." I mutter angrily. "How can we let someone like this control our life so much?" I stand up. "I don't want to do this, Tyler! I don't want to be dragged back into this shit! I left Mystic Falls, and when I came back, I told you I was done with this gang stuff! I don't want to be a part of it."

"But you are, Damon! You are a part of this; hell you're the biggest part of this!" He argues back, careful not to shout because I know it'll hurt him. "From the start, this has always been your war, Damon, yours and Klaus."

"Klaus isn't here!" I tell him in disbelief. "You know what, Tyler, you're my buddy, and I'll always have your back, no matter what, so yeah if Kol does something to you again, I'll try my best to help you. But whatever you're going to do in retaliation right now, whatever you're going to plan with the rest of the boys, I don't want to be a part of it!"

"What?" Tyler splutters out loudly and coughs, groaning in pain for a second before continuing. "Damon! This isn't down to you!"

"I don't care! Do whatever you want; I'm just not going to be involved in it!"

"You're already involved, Salvatore! Kol isn't going to just back off and leave you alone if you don't fight back!"

"No, he's not." I agree "But that doesn't mean I have to retaliate, get myself into trouble? For him? He's _not_ worth it! Klaus, _maybe_? But Kol, hell fucking no. I'm done with this shit." I tell him seriously. "I'll keep things quiet, I'll not say anything to anyone, not even Elena, but I'm not going to _do_ anything." I tell him firmly before walking out of the hospital room, ignoring Tyler's shouts in protest.

I'm not going to let another Mikaelson ruin my life.

* * *

I sigh loudly and mutter in frustration when I check my phone for the millionth time this past half hour to see that Damon still hasn't bothered to text me.

"Everything ok?" Miss Flemming looks up from her desk and I shrug. "Waiting to hear from someone?" she asks curiously and I nod my head.

"Damon." I confess and watch as she smiles sadly at me. "I'm just worried that he's going to go off and do something stupid, just like he always used too."

"How long have you two been together?" she asks interested, but I guess she's just making conversation, I mean, I'm the one who was huffing and muttering about it.

"A couple of months," I reply "Not that long I guess, but we were friends first." I explain. "Close friends."

"And it's serious?"

I nod my head immediately. "Yeah it is. I love him." I smile a little, despite my anger towards my boyfriend at the moment; it doesn't change how much I am in love with him. "I loved him before we even got together."

"I noticed," she says with a small smile and I snap my head to look up at her surprised. She looks startled by her own words for a moment before continuing. "I just mean…in class…I noticed that you cared for him a lot, that you loved him. Even on that first day when I was trying to stop him from choking Kol to death and then you begged me not to report the incident."

I smile a little and shake my head at the memory. That feels like so long ago even though it was only a couple of months. I was so sure Damon hated me back then.

"That wasn't the best first impression he could have made, or I could have made, or Stefan, any of us! I bet you wondered what the heck you had gotten yourself into coming here."

"Nah," she smiles at me softly and I don't know why, but there is something in her gaze, in her eyes, that tell me that she's not just thinking about that day. "Moving here was the best decision I've ever made."

I'm about to reply and ask her why that is but a knock on the door interrupts us and I watch as Alaric walks in with a file in his hand, not yet noticing me.

"Hey Isobel, here's those photocopies you wanted." He hands them to her and she smiles in thanks and I watch as Alaric finally notices me.

"Elena," he looks surprised to see me.

"Hi Ric." I smile before quickly glancing at Miss Flemming. "I mean…Mr Saltzman."

He chuckles softly and takes a step towards me desk. "How you doin?" he asks cautiously, briefly sending a glance in Miss Flemming's direction.

I shrug and force a smile. "Ok, I'm just hiding out and trying not to let what they are saying about Damon out there get to me."

"I was talking about _you_, Elena." He smiles softly and stands in front of my desk.

"I'll be fine," I nod my head, trying to be confident about this. I know he knows that I'm adopted.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yes." I answer firmly. "I'm sure." He ruffles my hair jokingly and I squeal and slap his hands away with a smile. "Ric!"

He chuckles and walks back towards the door as I flatten out my now messy hair. "I'll see you in class this afternoon Elena, and tell Damon from me not to let any of this get to him and that I expect to see him there too! Have a nice day Miss Flemming." He nods at my teacher before leaving.

"You're close with him." Miss Flemming states simply when I turn my attention back to her.

I nod my head. "He's dating my aunt, he's a good man, and we get along great."

She nods her head in agreement before sighing and looking down at her desk and I shrug it off before looking back down at my phone.

No new messages.

I huff just as the bell rings and I quickly get to my feet. "Thank you for letting me hide out here," I tell her appreciatively.

"Any time, Elena." She smiles kindly at me. "You know where I am if you ever need to talk."

I smile and nod my head before leaving, feeling a little bit better than I did before as I walk through the hallway and my eyes widen in surprise when I see Damon standing at his locker, a sponge in his hand as he attempts to wipe off the paint from the door.

"Damon," I approach him, shocked to see him back here. "What are you doing? I'm sure a janitor was coming to do this."

He turns his head to face me with a smile before continuing to scrub. "I wanted to do it myself." He says firmly. "I'm not going to let Kol get to me, he can try all he wants but it's not going to work."

I press my hand on his arm, motioning for him to stop and he does and drops the sponge back into the soapy bucket. "Is there something else going on here, Damon?" I ask, figuring I should give him a chance to explain himself before I start throwing out accusations.

"Other than Kol being a dick? No." he shakes his head and I scoff and shake my head. "What?" he asks confused by my tone.

"I know about Tyler, do you really think I wouldn't find out? When people aren't talking about you today, they are talking about him!"

He sighs and looks down for a moment. "I forgot to mention it."

"You _forgot_?" I question him in disbelief. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

"Elena, in case you had forgotten I had other things on my mind today!" he defends himself.

"And you expect me to believe that this is all just a coincidence? That Tyler gets attacked and then the next day you're being accused of murder?" I ask him while trying to keep my voice low. "There's obviously something going on here, Damon!" I tell him in exasperation "Has something happened with Kol?"

"No." he denies it. "It's just a coincidence, and I don't know, maybe it was Kol who attacked Tyler last night, maybe he's bored and wants to rile us up? But nothing is going on."

I look at him for a moment. "Promise me."

"What?"

"Promise me." I tell him firmly. "Promise me that you're telling me the truth." I ask of him seriously, my eyes watching his icy blue ones.

He stays silent for a moment and stares at me and my heart starts to pound against my chest.

He can't do it.

"Ok." He eventually speaks and I feel my body relax with relief. "I promise."

"Thank you," I whisper and wrap my arms around him, he pulls me against him and I rest my head into his chest as he strokes my hair soothingly, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist protectively and I sigh feeling content, knowing that I always feel so safe and calm in his arms.

Completely unaware of the look of anguish and guilt on my boyfriend's face right now.

* * *

**I wanted to post this sooner but I've had no internet until like 20 minutes ago!**

**Hope you liked the chapter, I thought it was a bit 'meh', not sure, I just think I could have done better to be honest :/**

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, you're all awesome and your opinions and feedback are what help me update this on a regular basis! **

**Until next time :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Shout out to Nat-Nat 360 who noticed my 'Original' pun in the last chapter haha **

* * *

I'm going to hell.

If I wasn't already going before for all the shit I've pulled in my life, then I am definitely going now.

I've beaten people up, I've stolen cars, I've set things on fire, I've slept with girls just to piss people off, cheated on them and with them without even a little hint of regret, I've sabotaged things, I've burgled houses and broken into them just to trash them, I've bullied people, hurt people, physically and verbally.

None of that matters to me.

Lying to Elena? _That_ matters.

"Morning handsome." she smiles widely at me, her eyes bright despite the early hour of the morning.

"Morning," I do my best to hide my guilt and lean down and kiss her, my hand trailing down her naked thigh underneath my silk bed sheets.

I need to remind myself that this is for the best. Elena can't know that something is starting again with the two gangs. Not only will she worry and stress about it, but she might tell someone, and telling someone leads to questions, questions from our parents, questions from the police, and I'm on probation, Tyler is on probation, and hell even Kol is on probation.

One wrong move and we get caught and we all get sent down.

It is that simple.

Despite my insistence not to get involved this time, I don't want my buddies to get into trouble. So while trying to keep my distance, I still need to have their back.

And if that means lying to my girlfriend, then so be it.

I have to do it.

I know that Kol hasn't finished with me yet, and it's going to be a task and a half to not to react to whatever his next move is, but as long as I have Elena by my side, I can do it. All I need to do is think about our future, think about losing her and that'll make me stop.

"Do we have to go to school today?" I ask with a pout, grabbing her hips and pulling her onto me so she is lying flat against me, my shirt riding up her ass as I run my hand up her back, my finger trailing up her spine causing her to shiver against me. "Can't we just stay in bed all day?"

She giggles against my lips before kissing me slowly, her hands tangling into my messy bed hair, before finally pulling her mouth away from mine. "As much as that sounds tempting, we can't." she nuzzles her face into my neck and I reach my other hand up and stroke it through her hair.

She is so irresistible.

"I know," I sigh loudly in agreement. "It's just you're…here…in my bed, wearing nothing but my shirt." She lifts her eyes up with a smirk before pressing open mouthed wet kisses along my collarbone and I close my eyes in pleasure as she travels slowly down my chest, her tongue darting out every now and then, pulling the covers down with her the lower she gets and I gasp as she stops at my hardening erection, she lifts her gleaming eyes with a smirk and I pant as her breath tickles my penis before she takes me in her mouth.

"God Elena!" I gasp, holding onto the sheets beside me, tightly scrunching them between my fingers as my hands ball into a fist, eyes squeezed shut, panting, struggling to control my breaths.

She continues to suck and lick, her fingers scraping up and down the inside of my thighs and I feel like I won't be able to last much longer as my tip touches the back of her throat.

"Elena," I reach my hands down and cup her head, lifting her off and pulling her straight back to me, her mouth crashing onto mine in a searing kiss. She pulls away first and straddles me, before lifting up and placing herself on my throbbing member.

"Ah," she gasps, her fingers leaning down and scraping my bare chest before she starts to lift herself up and down, riding me. I groan loudly before sitting up, causing her to scream into my shoulder in pleasure, her hands clinging onto my back, her nails digging into my skin.

I kiss her collarbone and her neck and move my hips up to match her movements and she shudders against me.

"God Damon." She hisses into my neck before placing wet kisses, I place my hand behind her head and bring her lips back to mine, crashing our mouths together in a burning kiss, our tongues battling for dominance as we ride out our orgasms together.

"Wow," I pant against her, my forehead leaning against hers as we eventually pull apart. "That was…" She smiles shyly and I swear she's blushing and I push some of her hair from her forehead that is stuck by beads of sweat. "You are so beautiful." I whisper softly and watch as her cheeks redden even more. "Elena," I kiss her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiles widely before kissing me softly. She lifts herself off from me and I moan slightly before she rolls onto her side on the bed as I lean back next to her.

We lay in silence, both of us regaining our strength and calming down, our hands linked together between us as we both lie on our backs.

"Damon?" Elena speaks up after a few more minutes of silence.

"Yeah baby?" I yawn and turn my head slightly to see her, still lying on my back.

"I want us to travel the world together some day, see to lots of different places. Europe, Asia, South America, everywhere." She smiles a little. "Just the two of us."

"I couldn't think of anything better." I smile and let out a wistful sigh. "That sounds perfect."

"Someday?"

"Someday." I agree with her with a smile and roll onto my side pressing a kiss to her shoulder. "Come on then, we better get up or we're going to be late for school."

"Oh." She pouts and rolls onto her side. "But your idea of staying in bed all day is sounding so much more appealing!"

I chuckle and flick her nose with my finger gently "I don't want to be seen as a bad influence on you, Gilbert!" I smirk while dragging myself out of bed, Elena sitting up straight as I do.

"I think it's too late for that baby," she smirks back at me and I laugh because she does have a point. "Tell you what; I'll get out of bed if you agree to shower with me?"

"Why are you saying that like it's a compromise?" I ask her amused. "Get your ass in there!" I walk around the bed and lift her up, throwing her over my shoulder.

"Damon!" she squeals loudly as I slap her ass and she giggles loudly as I carry her into the bathroom. "You're such a caveman!"

"You love it!" I tease.

She does.

* * *

After a very long and a very _distracting_ shower, I'm eventually dressed and ready for school. Damon grabs a hold of my hand and pulls me down his stairs, insisting that he needs some coffee if he is going to even think about functioning properly today.

I agree with him, we were up most of the night…

Damon wraps his arms around me from behind as he walk and blows a raspberry into my neck and I squeal and squirm to try to get out of his grasp but he's too strong. His strong biceps wrapped tightly around me as he walks me towards his kitchen.

"Damon!" I shriek as he bites on my neck playfully and he chuckles as we walk into the kitchen but we immediately come to a halt to see that we aren't alone.

Stefan and Giuseppe are sat at the counter.

"Good morning," the eldest Salvatore looks at us questionably and I feel Damon tense behind me before letting go of me. I quickly wipe at my neck and cough awkwardly before following Damon around the counter towards the coffee machine.

"Morning Mr Salvatore, Stefan." I greet them politely.

Damon ignores them as he pulls out two mugs and starts to make us our drinks. "You want some toast?" he asks me quietly and I shake my head declining.

"So…Miss Gilbert," Giuseppe addresses me and I a hint of sickness and nerves attacks the pit of my stomach. "I see you've stayed the night…" he comments and I notice Stefan scowl and look down beside him.

My mouth opens, and then closes again, because what am I supposed to say to that.

"We were studying," Damon answers for me, his voice hard and as cold as ice. "We fell asleep." Stefan scoffs slightly and I swear my cheeks are reddening. "Not that it's any of your business."

"My house, my business." Giuseppe fires back immediately, his tone blunt and unfriendly.

"I'm sorry sir," I apologize quickly. "It was a onetime thing, it won't happen again."

"Don't apologize to him, Elena!" Damon huffs in annoyance before turning back to face his father. "She can stay over as many times as she likes, you never had a problem with it before." He hisses coldly and I cringe slightly because I know he's referring back to when I was dating Stefan.

Oh god.

"I think you know fine well that that was different."

"_How_?" Damon spits out coldly. "Because it was Saint Stefan?"

Giuseppe rolls his eyes and stands up, "Stop being childish, Damon. You know the rules in this house." He says with a commanding tone as he places his empty plate before turning back to face my boyfriend. "Oh and another thing, I got a call from your principle yesterday, something about some graffiti? I hope you're not getting yourself into trouble."

"I'm not." Damon replies back stiffly. "You know what," he turns around to face me "Let's stop and get coffee on our way to school." He grabs my hand and goes to pull me out of the kitchen but Giuseppe walks up behind us and grabs his shoulder, turning him around.

"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you," he snaps at him angrily. "Now I'm going to ask you again, are you getting involved with your old gang again?"

"I told you," Damon spits out, silently fuming. "_No_."

Giuseppe watches him for a moment and the two stand toe to toe, both of their blue eyes hard and cold and I gulp slightly because it's so tense in here right now. Even Stefan looks a little put off by it.

Giuseppe is the first to back down and takes a step back while nodding his head. "Ok," he breathes out, his voice not as heavy as it was before looking over Damon's shoulder to me. "Have a nice day, Miss Gilbert."

"You too Mr Salvatore." I force a smile, but I think it comes out more as a grimace before Damon takes my hand again and pulls me out of the kitchen, not saying a word until we get outside and he slams the door shut behind us.

"God I hate him!" he rants angrily as he walks fast, practically dragging me along.

"Damon!" I huff "Not so fast!" he slows down and looks over his shoulder apologetically as I catch up.

"Sorry," he mumbles but I just squeeze his hand as we walk out of his long drive into his street.

"It's ok," I smile at him as he continues his rant.

"You know, he only said what he said about you staying over because he probably had Stefan whining in his ear about it all morning! God knows what he told him, he probably made it out as if I rolled in and corrupted his sweet innocent Elena just to piss him off!"

"Well you _have_ kinda corrupted me," I smirk at him teasingly and watch as his body relaxes a little as he sends me a smile.

"You know what I mean." He rolls his eyes at me.

"I do, but forget about what Stefan says, it's not important." I tell him seriously. "We both know the truth; we both know how we feel about each other. Nothing is going to change that."

"Yeah," he nods his head in agreement. "You're right," he tugs on my hand pulls me against his side to kiss my temple. "You're always right."

"Well, I have my ways." I grin and he chuckles and presses another kiss to the side of my head. "Now come on, you owe me coffee Salvatore!"

"As you wish my dear!" he smirks at me and I roll my eyes.

After making a quick stop at a local coffee shop, we eventually make it to school. Of course, the rumors from the day before are still circling the hallways but at least when we get to Damon's locker there's no graffiti there this time.

Small victories.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask you…" I trail cautiously, knowing that this is all coming at the wrong time. "The Mikaelson's are hosting some kind of ball this weekend, Caroline is insisting that I go and I was just wondering…" I trail off nervously. "If you'd come with me?"

He looks at me skeptically. "Do you really think that's the best idea?"

"No." I answer honestly. "Probably not, but…I hate these things and especially if it has anything to do with that family, but it _is_ for charity, and it's free food and champagne?"

He looks thoughtful for a few moments and I stand silently watching with baited breath before he lets out a loud sigh and nods his head. "Ok fine, I'll come, but only because it's _you_ who is asking."

"Thank you!" I smile and wrap my arms around his neck, my fingers playing with the bottom is his hair. "You're the best! And I promise that we will have fun, even if we have to be naughty to do it." I smirk at him and watch as he wiggles his eyebrows at me.

"Oh? And what _are_ you suggesting Miss Gilbert?" he squeezes my waist lightly before slipping his fingers underneath my shirt, stroking my bare skin softly on my hips.

Before I get a chance to answer, I notice Damon's gaze trail behind me and frown. "What?" he speaks out loud and I turn my head around to see his friend Shaun standing behind me.

"We need to talk." He tells Damon while glancing around him, looking very suspicious and I move to Damon's side confused.

"I'm busy." Damon replies firmly, his voice stiff and cold and I don't understand why.

"It won't take long." Shaun replies and I can tell that he's getting annoyed with my boyfriend.

Damon glances down at me and I shrug to let him know that it's ok but he just shakes his head and looks back at Shaun. "I told you, I'm busy. So whatever it is, it can wait."

Shaun takes a step forward. "_Damon_."

Damon just ignores him before grabbing a hold of my arm and pulling me away along the corridor.

"What the hell was that about?" I ask confused as Damon continues to drag me down the hallway, my mind flickering back to the promise he made me the day before about how there is nothing going on with Kol. "Damon!" I pull my arm out of his grasp when he fails to answer and we stop.

"I don't know, Elena." He replies bluntly.

"Well don't you want to know?" I ask him in a little disbelief.

"No actually, I don't, because whatever it is it's probably not going to be good. I'm not interested in that stuff anymore, remember? So the best thing for me to do is just avoid it."

I let out a relieved sigh at his explanation, grateful that there doesn't seem to be anything else that is going on that I do not know about.

I smile softly at him and take his hands in mine. "You're doing so well, especially after what happened yesterday. And I know that people are still going to talk, and whisper and generally just be jerks, but if we just continue to ignore it, everything will be ok."

"I know," he agrees with me and lifts my hands up to his lips before kissing my fingers slowly.

The bell rings signalling for us to head to our first class of the day and I'm just glad that it's History, not only do we have Alaric but Kol isn't in that class, so it means that we can at least start off the day without his annoying taunts.

* * *

I'm sat in the library during my free period working on an assignment when I spot Vicki Donovan browsing through the bookshelves. My first though is my shock at that she even knows where the library is but then that quickly turns to anger when I realize what she's caused.

I silently stand up and walk through the shelves that she's just walked down, keeping my distance until she turns a corner into a more secluded spot before I come up from behind and grab her arms.

"What the hell!" she raises her voice slightly but stops when I spin her around and she sees it's me. I pin her against the wall hard and grip onto her arms even tighter as she squirms to get out of my grasp. "Damon!"

"Did I, or did I not warn you that I would _end_ you if you tried to fuck with my life!" I spit out at her angrily, keeping my voice low as to not grab anyone's attention who might be close enough by to hear us if our voices are raised.

"You deserved it!"

"Deserve what? Kol starting up something with us again? In case you forgot, it's Tyler who is in a hospital bed right now, not me!"

"Yet." She spits out coldly and I squeeze her arms tighter causing her to gasp in pain. "Damon, get off me!"

"I told you that I would hold you personally responsible, Vicki!"

"Oh please, like you would do something to get yourself into trouble! You wouldn't want to upset your precious Elena would you? I had to do something to remind you what's important! You've changed Damon, and not for the better! You used to mean something, you used to matter! People used to be scared of you! Kol used to be scared of you! But now? You've turned into some popular cheerleader's lapdog! I told Kol about you guys chasing after Klaus for Katherine! Because you need to be reminded that Klaus is still out there and you can't stop looking, that Kol is still an ass that needs his ass kicked! And I'm sorry that Tyler got hurt, but it was the only way to make you see that this new life you had isn't you!"

I shake my head at her, failing to see her logic. "Give me a break, you did this because you're a bored jealous little girl who can't accept that people can change and actually do something with their life! Not like you, whose going to stay in Mystic Falls all her sad pathetic life, being seen as nothing more as the towns junkie!" I let go of her arms and take a step back. "You were wrong in what you said before, because _you_ should be scared! Watch your back, Vicki." I glare at her before walking away.

I walk out of the doors of the library and lean back against the wall, letting out a shaky breath. I was so close to snapping with her, she drives me crazy and not in a good way. She really is trying her hardest to be Katherine 2.0 in the terms of being Queen Bitch.

My threat to her is empty, I've scared her now, I saw it in her eyes so I don't need to do anything else but of course she doesn't know that.

I'm about to walk back inside to finish my assignment when two familiar people arguing across in the staff car park stop me.

John Gilbert and Miss Flemming.

That is weird.

What the hell is he doing here? He better not be trying to find Elena, the last thing she needs is him bugging her to talk! It should be on her terms and her terms only.

I watch as they look intense and they both look really pissed off before John turns around and storms away, walking to his car and speeding away.

I quickly go to walk inside before Miss Flemming spots me watching but it's too late, she catches me eye while walking back towards the doors and stops. I watch as she stands still for a second or two before changing her route and heading towards me.

Great.

"Damon," she greets me cautiously.

"Miss Flemming…" I reply, not really sure what to say. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

She eyes me sceptically for a second. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Free period."

"And you choose to spend it hanging around car parks?"

"I was in the library and needed some air." I reply without a second's hesitation. "What were _you_ doing? Looked like you were having a little dispute with John Gilbert."

"Not that it's any of your business, Damon, but I was just letting Mr Gilbert know that he can't park in this lot because it's staff only and he was put out by it." She explains and I nod my head before frowning.

"Any idea what he was doing here?" I ask curiously.

She shrugs casually. "No, none." She replies before turning to walk inside. "I'll see you in class later." She leaves and I pull out my phone immediately.

_**Hey, just want to give you  
a quick heads up, I saw John  
here in school, I think he's gone  
now but he must have come to  
talk to you xx **_

I send the text to Elena and hope that John has left the school now and doesn't intend to come back.

Elena has acknowledged that she needs to talk to him again at some point, but she's not prepared for that yet, and John needs to learn how to respect her choice and stay away from her until Elena is ready to see him again.

* * *

Despite Damon's warning that John was lurking around the school, I haven't seen him since our talk and he hasn't made any more moves to try and contact me, which I am pleased about because I still need to think things through and decide on what I information I want to find out.

Like who my birth mother is, and how would I be able to find her if I wanted to?

Do I want to?

I shake my head and snap myself out of those thoughts. Not today.

The rest of the week went by without much drama, just the odd asshat remark from Kol, but with the exception nothing out of the ordinary, which is unusual for this town.

I step out of Giuseppe's car and wait for Damon to walk round before looping my arm through his as we walk up the steps to the Mikealson mansion.

As soon as Giuseppe found out that Damon and I would be intending on attending the Mikaelson party, he insisted that his son comes with him and Stefan for appearance reasons, and I think Damon insisted that I come along too because I can tell that Stefan is not happy that I would be joining them.

I notice Damon stiffen slightly as we walk inside and I squeeze his bicep soothingly.

"Hey, it'll be ok. Remember, free food and champagne?" I smile at him and he nods his head before smiling back.

"Yeah, no big deal." He agrees and tugs on his tie with his other hand as Giuseppe spots a business client and leaves us, Stefan following after making his own excuse. "We'll have fun."

I move to stand in front of him and kiss him softly on the lips before pulling away. "Come on then, let's go get a drink." I loop my arm back through his and he escorts me into the main room where mostly everyone is gathered.

We make use of the free champagne, and keep ourselves to ourselves, and luckily haven't ran into any Mikealson's yet.

"Elena!"

I turn and see Caroline gliding towards us. "Hey Care." I greet with a smile, noticing Bonnie coming up behind her. "Bon."

"You look beautiful, Elena." Bonnie smiles as she looks down to my black fitting dress.

"Doesn't she just," Damon smiles from behind me and I roll my eyes while trying to hide my blush.

"You should be thanking me, Salvatore! I picked it out." Caroline takes the full credit.

"And yet it's Elena who can pull it off." Damon hits back with a smirk which Caroline just rolls her eyes at.

"You don't look too bad yourself in a suit, Damon." Bonnie compliments him.

"Why thank you Bonnie, have to say you're looking quite lovely too." He replies with a grin.

"Urgh, gag me now." Caroline scoffs and I watch on amused as Bonnie elbows her in the side. "Hey, is that Tyler Lockwood out of hospital?"

I turn around to see Tyler standing by his Mom, looking as healthy as ever in a suit and if it wasn't for the faded bruises on his face then I'd have assumed he was in perfect health.

"I didn't know he was better?" I look at Damon who shrugs.

"Me neither, I best go and check in with him, see how he's doing." He kisses me on the cheek before walking towards Tyler. I watch as they greet with a handshake before they both disappear off into the crowds and I shrug before turning back to face Caroline and Bonnie.

We stand around for a while, chatting about our dresses and random things while enjoying our glasses of champagne. I look up when Mr and Mrs Mikaelson tap on their glasses from their position on the stairs to get everyone's attention. I turn away from Caroline and Bonnie slightly to face her and take a quick sip from my champagne, preparing myself for the cringe-worthy speech that I know is coming.

"First of all I would like to thank you all for coming this evening." Ester smiles her fake country club smile as she eyes the crowd "It means a lot and we are proud to be hosting such wonderful people here tonight together as a family and I hope you will all continue to have a wonderful night." She motions to someone in crowd before continuing. "Children please, if you'd like to come up and join us." I roll my eyes a little as Rebekah immediately walks up the steps, always one to enjoy the spotlight that girl.

I sigh in boredom as Kol, Elijah and Finn also join them and I glance around the room to see that everyone's eyes are on this family, just like they probably wanted.

"As most of you will know, we have had a very difficult year." I frown at Esters words and glance around looking for my boyfriend's reaction but I can't see him over the crowd of people. "Our family has been through a lot, due to the tragic events of last spring but we have been trying our hardest to move on, together, as a family." I scowl as she wipes a fake tear from her eye before continuing.

"Which is why tonight is even more so special to us because we have been reunited," I frown as she continues "It's a pleasure to have all of my children back under one roof, Finn, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah and…Klaus."

My heart stops as I see a figure appear at the top of the stairs and I look up to see the smug looking bastard that is Klaus Mikaelson walk slowly down the steps, his trademark smirk resting on his lips as he kisses his mother on the cheek.

I hear some people gasp in shock around me and people around the room start to whisper until Ester stops them.

"Damon." I whisper and look anxiously around the room.

Oh god, this is _not_ good.

* * *

**This was a bit of a filler chapter to get things moving along, but I AM sorry to leave it there! ooops! ** **The next chapter will pick up exactly where I left off.**

**Thanks to those who left a review, really keeps me going with this story and it does mean a lot! I want to thank you all one by one soon, which I will do! I promise! **

**Tah for reading, see you next time! **


	30. Chapter 30

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Wow, over 400 reviews! That is amazing! Thank you so so much! As a thank you, I decided to post this chapter now instead of waiting until tomorrow, so this is for every single one of you who has ever left a review for this story! Chapter 30...Klaus is back...enjoy! **

* * *

My heart stops as I see a figure appear at the top of the stairs and I look up to see the smug looking bastard that is Klaus Mikaelson walk slowly down the steps, his trademark smirk resting on his lips as he kisses his mother on the cheek.

I hear some people gasp in shock around me and people around the room start to whisper until Ester stops them.

"Damon." I whisper and look anxiously around the room.

Oh god, this is _not_ good.

"Now I know my son here has a…poor reputation in this town, but he has come back to make amends and move on with his life. He has grown up a lot since he has been gone, and he has realised that his past behaviour was simply unacceptable, and he, as well as I, are hoping that as a town, one as close and family orientated as ours, can welcome back my son with open arms and accept his sincerity declaration to make his life better."

I almost gag.

I turn around to face Caroline and Bonnie who look as shocked as I feel. "I need to find Damon." I tell them and they immediately nod their head in agreement as I leave and push my way through the crowds, ignoring the rest of Esters speech because if Damon is here in this room right now, this night will not end well.

After a long few seconds of frantically searching for my boyfriend I eventually find him, a look of pure _rage_ on his face as Giuseppe and Alaric grip onto both of his arms, holding him in place.

"Let go of me!" Damon spits out at them both as he tries to escape from their grasp and I immediately rush towards them. "I'm going to fucking _kill_ him!" his voice is low and cold and I've never heard him sound like this before, not even after the whole murder accusation incident.

"Damon. _Damon_." I try and keep my voice quiet as to not draw more attention, the people around us are watching but the majority of the rooms attention is still on the Mikealson's. "Hey!" I push myself underneath Alaric's arm so I'm standing right in front of Damon and place my hands firmly on each side of his cheeks, holding him still as he stops trying to drag himself out of their strong hold.

"Elena, this is a family matter!" Giuseppe scolds me but I flat out ignore him, my attention only focussed on the boy in front of me.

"Hey, hey, look at me!" I try and pull his head down to face me but his gaze is stuck on Klaus "Damon, look at me!" eventually he does, his eyes wild and frantic. "Come on, come outside with me." I urge him, very much aware that if it wasn't for Alaric's and Giuseppe's hard grips on his arms he would probably be beating Klaus to a pulp right now!

Damon shakes his head but I hold it firm between my hands. "Damon," I say his name determinedly "Come on, it's _ok_, come outside with me?" my voice is soft but I need to make sure he understands me. "Damon _please_."

I watch as his body relaxes for a second and I sigh in relief, my hands falling from his face and I turn to look at Alaric and Giuseppe. "You can let him go." Alaric looks at me sceptically before reluctantly doing so but Giuseppe keeps his grip tight. "Please, I got this!" I tell him seriously.

"The second I let go of him, he is going to go straight up there and cause a scene, making a fool out of himself and me!"

"He won't!" I argue "Please, just let go of him." I grab a hold of Damon's hand from the arm that Alaric let go of and I'm even more relieved when he grips it back, his eyes still frantically looking between Klaus and me and I know that if I don't get him out of here soon he is going to snap again. "Please Mr Salvatore."

Giuseppe grumbles before letting go and I watch as both him and Alaric tense up, almost like they are waiting for Damon to pounce but like I thought, he doesn't, instead I grip onto his hand tightly, my other hand wrapping around his arm as I lead him through the crowds towards the door.

As soon as we get outside Damon pulls himself out of my grasp and storms over to one of the many statues the Mikealson's have in their backyard and immediately knocks it over, watching as it smashes to the ground with a loud crash, breaking up into pieces and I quickly glance back through the doors to make sure that no one is looking at the mess he has just caused.

"What the fuck is he doing back here, Elena?!" he rants, pacing back and forth, his hands clenched in tight fists beside him. "He shouldn't be back here!"

"I know," I step forward, unsure of what I can do to calm him down. It was one thing to get him _out_ of the situation; it's another to _keep_ him here. "But this is what he wants, Damon! He wants a reaction from you, don't give him the satisfaction!"

"Like it's that fucking easy?!" he swings his body around to face me, his cheeks burning red with anger. "He _killed_ Katherine! He murdered her in cold blood! And I know that she didn't love me, and I realise now that I didn't even love her but I still fucking cared about her! I thought I loved her and he killed her! He fucking shot her! He shot _me_!" his hands are shaking and he starts to pace again.

"I hate him too, Damon! I _hate_ him _so_ much because he tried to kill you, he left you for dead and that _hurts_ me! What if you had died? I'd have never have gotten to experience real love, I'd have never gotten to know you. But your _alive_, Damon, you're here! You won! Klaus didn't, _you_ did! You!" I step closer to him and he stops pacing and turns to face me and I take the risk and press my hands on either side of his cheeks, stroking them softly with my thumb.

"I want to _kill_ him, Elena! All it took was for me to see his smug face for just _one_ second and I wanted to _rip_ his heart out from his chest without a seconds thought!" there are tears in his eyes now but his voice is still hard and cold and angry "What kind of guy does that make me?"

"It makes you human," I tell him firmly "Klaus deserves to suffer for the rest of his life for what he did, but it can't be _you_ who does it, Damon. Don't you see? It will ruin your life!"

"It was already ruined!" he shouts at me and I take a step back in shock, how can he say that? "I spent _MONTHS_, months, Elena, chasing him around the country! And now he's here! He's here right in front of me, this is my shot! I can't let this pass; I need to make him _suffer_ for what he did!"

"And what about me, huh?!" my voice is raised now and I don't even bother to try and stop the tears flowing down my face "What will I do if you get yourself locked up in prison or God forbid something _worse_! What will I do then? What about me?"

"Elena," Damon sighs and shakes his head, calming down a little "This isn't about you."

"No it's not, but it will be if you continue whatever revenge plan you had for him last year! I don't want to lose you, Damon, I _can't _lose you!" I realise I'm crying now, another sob escapes my lips and I cover my mouth with my hand and turn away.

God damn it I do not want to cry.

"Elena," I feel his hands rest on my shoulders and I tense and shrug them off but he doesn't let off and instead wraps his arms around my waist from behind and pulls me back against him. "I'm sorry," he whispers into my ear and he leans his head down and kisses the bare skin of my collarbone. "Don't cry baby, I'm sorry." He kisses it again, arms wrapped tightly around me and I close my eyes as he moves to kiss my neck.

"I just don't want to lose you." I whisper.

"You won't." he says softly before turning me around in his arms and I open my eyes to see his blue ones glistening with tears, but they are calm and soft now. "I love you, ok? I didn't mean what I said, my life isn't ruined. It's perfect because I have _you_." He lifts one hand to my cheek and wipes away my tears before leaving it there, his thumb stroking it slowly "You won't lose me, I promise. I'm not gonna do anything stupid, I was just shocked to see him and all these pent up old feelings just came back and smacked me in the face full force and I panicked. I hadn't felt like that in such a long time, not since right after Katherine died and all I wanted to do was snap and black out and hurt Klaus." He tells honestly "I'm sorry."

"It's ok." I say quietly and press my hand against his that is covering my cheek "I understand why you feel like this, Damon, I do. I don't expect you to feel differently, I just don't want you to do anything stupid because you have done so well lately. You have a future, Damon! Klaus doesn't have that, you got your second chance, you can go to college and make something of your life, what can Klaus do? You've won! You don't need revenge, you've already had it."

Damon nods his head and leans forward and kisses me softly. "God I love you."

"I love you too," I smile softly at him "Now why don't we go back in there and show Klaus that you couldn't give a shit that he's back? Don't you think that would piss him off more than you punching him? To show him that you're _happy_?"

"I am happy." Damon nods his head and a smirk crosses his face "_That_ would piss him off."

"Right?" I grin amused and lean up and peck him quickly on the lips "Come on; show him that you're the better man." I step back and hold out my hand which he immediately takes, I wrap my other hand around his arm as he leads me back inside and squeeze his bicep when I notice immediately that people's eyes on us.

Of course the whole town wants to know Damon Salvatore's reaction to all of this.

* * *

Elena grips onto my hand and arm tightly as we walk through the crowd; I am glad that the speech is over because I don't think I could stay this calm if Ester's irritating voice was still echoing around the mansion.

Every time I picture Klaus a ball of rage builds up inside me and all I want to do is find him and _hurt_ him, but then it disappears the second I turn my head to see Elena smiling back at me.

If she's with me, by my side, I can do this.

"Don't leave me tonight," I mumble into her ear as we walk along, not caring how pathetic I must sound.

"I won't." Elena squeezes my hand "I'll be by your side the whole night, ok?"

I nod and kiss her temple as Alaric walks over to us. "You calmed down?" he asks hesitantly and I nod my head slowly.

"Yeah, sorry about that…" I say meekly as Elena rubs her hand that's not clutched in mine up and down my arm soothingly.

"It's understandable, Damon." Alaric replies "But I still think maybe you should head home? I don't want to see you in trouble tonight. The entire town is here, including the sheriff." He says with an edge of warning to his tone.

"He's fine," Elena answers for me "He's not an animal, Ric, he has control." She frowns at our History teacher defensively.

"Elena," Alaric sighs "You know exactly what I'm talking about, all it could take is one comment and he could snap. I'm just trying to look out for him, and for you. You should take him home."

"I'm standing right here, you know!" I mutter in annoyance. "But Elena is right, I have self-control, I'm going to enjoy the rest of the night with my beautiful girlfriend, so if you'll excuse us…" I push past Alaric with a smirk, Elena by my side with a sneaky grin on her face. "How was that?" I ask her as we walk towards the bar.

"Very well done." She compliments and pats my chest as we lean against the bar and I shout out to the bartender to get us two glasses of champagne. The bartender places them on the bar and Elena lets go of my hand to pick up her glass and I do the same. "To a good night?" she tips her glass towards me and I nod before tapping it against hers and we both take a sip.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against me, pressing a kiss into her hair and squeezing her hip before running my fingers up and down her side unconsciously.

She steps in front of me and places her spare hand around my neck and kisses me slowly on the lips, her tongue darting into my mouth in a searing kiss "Mmm" she sighs against my lips as she slowly pulls away "Maybe we _should_ go home…" she smirks at me and I laugh and kiss her again.

"Well well, I'd heard you'd moved on." My entire body tenses because I'd recognise that voice anywhere and I pull away from Elena and turn to the side to see Klaus standing there with a smug cocky look on his face, a glass of champagne in his hand but I don't miss the look of pure _hatred_ in his eyes despite the expression on his face. "Elena Gilbert huh? Not quite Katherine Pierce standard but I can see the attraction." I step forward as he eyes my girlfriend up and down with a sick look on his face but Elena grabs onto my arm, her other hand linking in my own, clasping our fingers together and I stop and stand still as she comes up to step beside me.

"I'm sorry, and who are you?" Elena asks him cattily, her voice so cold and bitchy that I have to stop myself from doing a double take to make sure that it's actually her.

"Oh please sweetheart, you know _exactly_ who I am." Klaus smirks at her and Elena rolls her eyes.

"What are you doing back here Klaus?" I decide to speak up, trying to keep my anger in check because all I want to do is reach forward and _snap_ his neck. Elena squeezes onto my hand though before letting go and wrapping her arm around my waist and I don't hesitate in wrapping my own around her shoulders, bringing her side against my own.

"Believe it or not I actually missed this backwards town, and I wanted to see how much things have changed since I've been gone. You know, _catch up_ with a few old…_friends_."

I try to stop myself from scowling and throw out the best real looking smile I could do as I nod my head casually.

"That's _great_ buddy." I tell him as Elena lifts her other hand presses it against my chest and I look down at her with a smirk "Now if you'll excuse us, I want to dance with my beautiful girl." I walk straight past Klaus without even a second glance and a feeling of satisfaction rests in my stomach because of the look on his face at my departure.

"That was brilliant," Elena giggles as we walk towards the dance floor. "I am so proud of you." My stomach flutters at her words and I try to stop my cheeks from burning. "Seriously, Damon," she continues and stops and turns to face me "You handled that really well, the look on his face when you called him buddy was amazing!"

"So is your smile right now," I grin and lean down and kiss her softly "Thank you."

"For what?" Elena asks confused, a smile still present on her face.

"For helping me get through that, if you weren't by my side I think I would have smashed a glass over his head or something." I tell her honestly.

"But you didn't," she smiles and grabs onto both of my hands "Now come on, you owe your _beautiful girl_ a dance." She smirks at me and I chuckle before following her to the dance floor.

* * *

So far throughout the night I've managed to keep Damon away from trouble. We heard there was an altercation between Tyler and Klaus earlier but luckily we weren't anywhere near the incident and when Damon heard about it, I roped him into dancing with me again instead of going to find Tyler to see what had happened.

I somehow manage to get Damon to join me in dancing to one of the many Mystic Falls traditional dances and he just rolls his eyes before agreeing anyway. I don't even ask him how he knows all the steps as we begin the dance and he leads me through it like a pro.

"You look absolutely stunning, if it isn't obvious." He smirks at me and I smile and shake my head to hide my blush.

"Thanks."

He just shrugs and we continue to dance and he twirls me around and we go to switch partners and I immediately come to a halt when it's Klaus who is standing in front of me. He immediately wraps his arm around me and moves to the music so I have no choice but to follow.

Half the town is crowded around in a circle watching our every move.

"Well, well." He repeats his earlier words and I glance over at Damon who is looking over at us with a murderous look on his face, I force a smile and nod my head to tell them that it's ok and he turns his attention back to the dance as he dances with one of the Fell girls, his eyes never leaving me and Klaus. "Elena Gilbert." He smirks down at me.

"Klaus." I mutter coldly and he chuckles.

"So you _do _know my name."

I turn my head and look away, counting down the seconds until it's time to switch partners again.

"You know, that was a nice little show you and Damon put on earlier…" his voice is laced with amusement but I can also hear just a hint of irritation "For a second, I really thought Damon had changed."

"He has changed, he really doesn't care that you're back."

Klaus chuckles "I know you don't believe that, he cares, or he wouldn't be sending me daggers right now."

"You know that he hates you, everyone knows that," I glare at him "But he's moved on from what happened and he's happy."

"Damon Salvatore is _never_ happy." Klaus scowls at me "And if you think for one second that it's _you_ who is making him happy then you really are delusional, princess." He smirks nastily at me "You're a distraction to him, a Katherine wannabe. He's using you, and the sooner you realize that the better it will be for you in the long haul love."

"You don't know anything about us nor will you ever know anything about us." I tell him simply and stop moving and step out of his grasp "And quite frankly, I don't want to dance with you. I think you're a disgusting arrogant _pig_ who should be locked up."

"You want to remember who you are talking to darling!" Klaus takes a step towards me, a look of anger on his face, probably not expecting someone to say something like that that to him. Things have changed since the last time he was in town; I'm not scared of him anymore. He grabs a hold of my wrist and grips it tightly causing me to gasp in pain "Talk to me like that again and you'll-"

Suddenly his hand is wrenched off mine and Damon is stood between us, his entire body shaking with anger. "Touch her again and I swear to God I will _break_ you!" He steps right in Klaus' face, his eyes full of fury, his fists clenched tightly into balls as he struggles to stop himself from just letting go and lashing out. "You stay the fuck away from her, you hear me? You don't even _look_ at her!"

"Damon." I press my hand on his back and step closer "Come on, he's not worth it."

"Yeah Damon," Klaus sneers, his face holding a sick smirk but his eyes are full of anger and hatred "Listen to your lapdog."

Damon goes to raise his fist but I immediately clench onto his arm, noticing people's eyes on us "Damon," I urge him and watch as he finally breaks his glance from Klaus and looks at me. "Come on." I smile softly at him and I watch as his body relaxes and he takes a step back, his hand finding mine.

"I mean it, Klaus. I'm done with you; if you touch her again I won't think twice about _ending_ you." His voice is hard and threatening and I'm sure I see a flash of fear cross Klaus' face before his smug expression comes back.

Damon turns around and leads me away, ignoring everyone's watching eyes and I squeeze his hand tightly for a second. "Thank you." I smile at him but he just looks so fed up and sad and I frown as we step outside. "Damon?"

"I'm sorry, Elena." He lets go of my hand and runs a shaky hand through his hair "I shouldn't have threatened him; I should have just walked away like you said…"

"You _did_ walk away, Damon. I'm so proud of you baby, you handled that better than most would have in that situation." I tell him and he looks at me unsure "I promise, you did good." I tell him firmly and he nods his head slowly. "You want to get out of here?"

"Yeah," he nods his head "I don't think I can stand another minute here."

"Well, I happen to know a bar just outside of town that is calling our name."

Damon smirks at me and leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose before flicking it with his finger causing me to giggle. "I'll call us a cab beautiful."

* * *

We walk into the bar, Damon's tie loose, his shirt untucked and his jacket swung over his shoulder as we walk to the counter.

"Karl, a drink for my lady and myself please." He waves at the bartender who now knows us by name.

"Sure thing Damon." Karl nods his head and sends me a wave "Elena." He greets me before setting down two bottles of beers. "You guys look smart, special occasion?"

I glance at Damon who is clenching his jaw and I shrug slightly. "Something like that," I decide to keep my reply simple and once our drinks are ready, Damon and I go and find a quiet booth in the corner before sliding into one side of it.

"Hey," I notice after a minute or two of silence that he's drifting off into his head, staring down at his bottle of beer with a troubled frown on his face, his eyebrows scrunched together. I place my hand on his thigh and squeeze it causing him to snap out of his trance and he turns his head to look at me. "I lost you for a second." I smile softly at him while running my hand up and down his leg.

"Yeah, sorry." He replies quietly before taking a chug out from his beer. He pulls his vibrating phone out from his pocket yet again to see another missed call from Tyler.

I know his old gang want to do something about Klaus being back, I know that they want _Damon_ to do something about it. I just need to make sure that he doesn't give in and listen to them; just a few more months and we'll be out of here.

Just a _few_ more months.

"He just doesn't give up." Damon huffs as his phone lights up yet again and Tyler's name flashes from it.

I sigh and gently take the phone from Damon's hand and cancel the call before turning it off and placing it in my purse. "No more distractions, ok?"

He nods his head and leans over to kiss me softly. "This is going to be hard, Elena." He admits quietly and I can hear the nerves in his voice. "I spent so many months focused on this one thing, and now that it's here, right in front of me…I don't want it anymore. I can't."

I use my other hand to hold onto his and squeeze it reassuringly. "We know that it's going to be difficult, that there's going to be times when you just want to let loose and hurt Klaus. I know that, _you_ know that, but you can't let it happen, Damon, you're better than that. It'll ruin you and you deserve better."

"I know, Elena." He grunts in frustration and let's go of my hand to run it through his hair. "I just… I hate him, I _hate_ him so much. But you're right, I know you're right. I need to be better than him."

"And you will be." I tell him determinedly. "You already are."

I reach my hand up and stroke his forehead with my fingers, flattening out the worry lines there from his frowning and I can feel his face relax from underneath me.

He looks up at me, his ice blue eyes shining in the light of the bulb hanging closest to our booth, looking fearful, sad, and angry, but comforted at the same time. "I don't deserve you." He whispers and I frown and immediately shake my head.

"Don't say things like that, Damon." I place my hand on his cheek and run my thumb along his cheekbone. I lean forward and kiss him slowly, my hand sliding along into his dark locks of hair. I pull away before pecking him again quickly. "Why don't we just forget all about Klaus Mikaelson for one night? We can worry about him in the morning." I tell him with a smile and pick up my bottle of beer and motion for him to do the same.

"Yeah ok," he replies with a small smile, tapping his bottle against mine and taking a large chug.

We can deal with Klaus tomorrow; tonight I just want to have a night alone with my boyfriend.

* * *

Elena and I have a few drinks in our bar before deciding to call it a night and head back to Mystic Falls. The second Elena gives me my phone back and I turn it back on I get a dozen text messages and voice mails on my phone, most of them from Tyler and Giuseppe, but there is also a couple from Stefan and a few other of the boys.

I pay the cab driver and climb out, holding onto Elena's hand as we walk up the step of her porch and she stops and turns to face me with a smile, my suit jacket wrapped around her shoulders to protect her from the cold night air.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay over?" she asks while grabbing a hold of my shirt and pulling me closer against her.

"I wish I could," I tell her honestly. "But my Dad is going to kill me if I don't show my face at home soon." I sigh and place one hand on her cheek while the other wraps around her waist

"Urgh, your face would be _so _much more appreciated in my _bedroom_." She looks up at me with a tipsy smile before grabbing a hold of my loose black tie and pulling me down into a hungry kiss.

I kiss her back immediately, my tongue sliding inside her welcoming mouth as I pull her closer against me so our chests are flushed together. I walk her backwards and press her body against the wall beside her front door, one of her hands sliding down my back to grip onto my ass tightly causing me to groan into her mouth.

I trail my hand down her side and down to the hem of her dress under my jacket, massaging her bare thigh before lifting it up to wrap her leg around my waist.

"God," she mumbles against me, breaking our kiss briefly. "I want you so bad." She murmurs, her eyes as black as the night sky before crashing her lips back against mine, our kisses hot and hungry, our breaths and pants molded together as I lift my other hand from around her waist and skim the outside of her dress before squeezing her breast tightly, causing Elena to moan in pleasure against my mouth.

I'm sure Giuseppe can wait a few more hours.

We are so caught up in each other and in our own bubble that we don't even hear the front door opening until a loud scream and a cry of "Oh my god!" pulls us apart.

I let go of Elena's thigh immediately, causing her leg to fall down and we turn our sides to a see mortified looking Jenna standing in the door way.

"Oh _god_," she covers her eyes slightly and I awkwardly take a step back, watching Elena wipe her mouth before straightening down her dress and pushing herself off the wall.

I cough awkwardly as Jenna gawps at us in shock at what she just witnessed. I guess nobody wants to see their niece in that situation. "I'm gonna pretend I did not just see that!"

Elena's face is beetroot red as she looks at her aunt guiltily. "Sorry…" her voice is shy and quiet and I can tell that she is embarrassed.

"On the porch guys? _Really_? In front of our neighbors " she looks at us in disbelief before running a hand through her hair. "Ok, I think you should go home Damon." She looks at me and I immediately nod my head.

"Yeah uh..." I agree and go to kiss Elena goodbye but from the look on Jenna's face right now I just know it's not the best idea. "Um…bye." I send her a smile and she just awkwardly waves at me before I quickly hurry down the steps of the porch and down the street, trying to get as far away as possible.

I feel bad for Elena having to stay behind after _that_ but very grateful that I didn't have to stick around!

She can take one for the team!

I'm about half way home when I notice a car slow down beside me from the corner of my eye and I turn my head around, blinded by the bright lights before it drives alongside me and the window rolls down.

Great.

"Get in the car, Damon."

"Go away."

Tyler is driving and Trevor sits in the passenger seat leaning his head out of the open window next to me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Why didn't you tell me Klaus was back?" Trevor sounds _pissed_. "You should have called me the second you saw him, Damon!"

I ignore him and keep walking, my head looking directly in front of me as I try my hardest to block everything out.

Be the better man, be better than Klaus.

"Damon! This is _Klaus_. He's _here_, he's come back! This is our chance! For real this time!" he rants at me firmly. "We can't let this go, and after everything that vile excuse of a human being has done to us, we can not let this go."

Damn it. I can't do this shit without Elena by my side.

_"You know what your biggest weakness has always been, Salvatore." Klaus smirks at me and I raise my eyebrow._

_"No but I'm sure you're about to tell me."_

_"You __always__ underestimate me."_

_I watch in slow motion as his finger moves to the trigger and he pulls. I hear Katherine's scream and before I know it I've landed backwards to the ground with a thud and everything goes black._

"Fucking hell, Salvatore! GET IN THE DAMN CAR!" Trevor shouts furiously at me and I groan loudly before stopping, Tyler stopping his car as I do so before walking towards it and pulling the passenger door open and climbing inside, slamming the door shut hard and loud behind me.

I'm pathetic. I can't even last 10 minutes away from Elena before I lose it and give in.

But he's right, this is Klaus. I can't let this go.

I _can't_.

* * *

**The next chapter is going to continue right where this one left off! Half of it was originally supposed to be part of this chapter but I felt like it was too long and too much was going on for one chapter! Plus I wanted to build up the suspense a bit, because like Damon said, he can't let this go, no matter how much he wants to do the right thing by Elena, this has been eating at him for almost a year.**

**Hope you liked the chapter and it didn't disappoint, I know a lot of you have been waiting this entire 30 chapters for Klaus to make his return! Trust me, there is plenty more Damon/Klaus coming up in the next lot of chapters! Plenty!**

**And plenty of revelations, after all, Damon still needs answers from what happened THAT night. **

**Please let me know what you thought, your reviews are awesome and I love all of you!**

**Until next time :)**


	31. Chapter 31

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Not sure what to think about this chapter, I really feel like I could have done better with it but I hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

I follow my Aunt Jenna back into the house with a cringe on my face, wishing I had my hair down so at least then I could hide my face!

"Ok, night!" I go to run up the stairs but Jenna grabs on my arm and pulls me back before I can even reach the second step.

"Hey hey, not so fast!"

I grimace and turn around to face her, pulling on Damon's jacket that is still wrapped around me to, shrinking into the material.

"Want to explain to me what I just walked in on?"

"Um…I was kissing my boyfriend?"

"Oh that was more than kissing, Elena." She tells me pointedly and I force a smile before answering.

"Sorry…we just got caught up in the moment…I forgot where we were."

"So, I'm guessing the two of you are having sex?" she asks seriously, and I can tell that she is trying her hardest to act mature and take on this parental role.

Unfortunately for me, it's at my expense.

"Oh god, Jenna, please don't do this!" I plead in embarrassment.

"What?" she tries to hide her smile. "I'm your guardian, I have to ask these things, Elena!" she coughs and turns serious again. "Are you both using protection?"

I groan and cover my face with my hands. "Yes of course."

"Good." She nods her head.

"Can I go now?"

"One more thing…" she stops me from escaping to the sanctuary of my bedroom. "He's never pressured you or anything…" she trails off cautiously.

"What? No. Of course not!" I defend immediately, my voice sharp and cold at her suggestion.

"I just had to ask Elena, he is older than you and-"

"He's only a year older than me, Jenna! Geez…you didn't ask this question when I was dating Stefan!"

"Well I never walked in on you and Stefan in a situation like _that_. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if you and Stefan were even-"

"Right!" I immediately cut her off "I'm going to stop you there before this gets any more mortifying. I'm happy with Damon, I love him and he loves me and we're always…_safe_, so you have nothing to worry about, ok? Now I'm going to go to bed because I've had a really long day and I'm tired. Goodnight Aunt Jenna." I run up the stairs before she can even get another word and lock my bedroom door behind me, leaning my head back against in and groan in embarrassment.

I never want to have a conversation like that again.

* * *

"You need to get your head in the game, Damon." Tyler says to me coldly, his eyes watching me through his mirror. "You think it's a coincidence that Kol starts his gang up against us again and a week later Klaus comes back?"

I stay silent as I let his words sink in.

Really sink for the first time tonight. I'm not thinking about just Klaus being here, or trying to ignore him and move on.

I'm thinking about the situation, what is actually happening.

Tyler is right, this is no coincidence.

"Their planning something," I muse reluctantly, trying to shut out the part of my brain that is telling me to just jump out of this car and run home, lock myself in my room and call Elena and talk to her until I calm down.

But I can't.

"Think about it, Kol would never have started something up for real with you Damon if he didn't know something we don't. He was always scared of you, the only reason he decided to go after you and Tyler is because he must have known that Klaus was coming back to Mystic Falls."

"But _why_?" I ask in disbelief. "What the hell could they want from me?! Klaus ruined my life once before, what reason would he want to do it again? I stopped chasing him; I was ready to move on! He didn't need to come back here!"

"Why does Klaus do anything?" Tyler questions in annoyance and I groan and punch the empty seat beside me in frustration. "He's back here, and not just for one night or discreetly like he was over the holidays leaving before anyone even seen him. His family announced it to half the town, which means that whatever he's planning, it's not going to happen quickly."

"We need to be ready," Trevor agrees. "We need to make sure that we're one step ahead."

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that when we don't know what the fuck they are planning?" I ask in frustration.

Tyler turns his head to look at Trevor. "I say we just grab Klaus and we remove him from the situation."

"And then what? Spend the next 20 years in a prison cell? No thanks." I immediately dismiss that idea. "We need to be smart about this; we can't just go to Klaus all guns blazing."

"Then what the hell do you suggest we do, Damon?" Tyler asks me exasperated. "Because I for one do not want to sit around like a sitting useless duck waiting for Klaus to make the first move! We strike him first, it's the only way!"

"The last time we went after Klaus like this half of us ended up with bullet wounds!" I argue. "We need to be smart about this."

"So you keep saying, Damon, but you don't actually have any ideas!" he hits back. "I'm done listening to you, I agreed not go looking for him but now that he's here? No way am I backing down and you shouldn't either!"

"I'm not backing down! I just don't want to fuck my life up if we just do something without thinking!"

"Wait wait, boys shut up!" Trevor interrupts are arguing and leans forward. "Is that Elijah?"

I lean between the two front seats and spot Elijah stood outside of The Grill talking on his phone, his front turned away from us.

"Yeah…that's him." I confirm and Tyler slows down his car.

Trevor glances back at me and then to Tyler. "You think?"

Tyler smirks. "I do."

"No, no." I immediately shake my head. "We're asking for trouble."

"No, we're getting one step ahead. You said yourself that Klaus must be planning something, so we hit him first? Gain an advantage and work this in our favour." Trevor says firmly and before I can even say anything else Tyler has stopped the car and Trevor has already jumped out.

I groan before following him, Tyler staying in the driver's seat with the engine running.

Trevor comes up from behind Elijah and immediately smacks his phone from his ear, it smashing to the ground with a crack and I watch as Elijah swings around, shocked and furious.

"Evening Mikaelson." Trevor smirks at him and I watch as Elijah's eyes widen and then glance behind Trevor to look at me.

He lets out a dry laugh and shakes his head. "Ok boys, I see how this is going to go down."

"Actually you don't." Trevor steps closer to him so they are standing toe to toe and I walk around them and pick up Elijah's discarded phone and slip it into my pocket.

"Damon," Elijah turns to look at me. "Look, I don't want any trouble."

I scoff and smile coldly. "You don't want any trouble? Then you shouldn't have come back."

"Get in the car, Elijah." Trevor grips onto Elijah's shoulder and I watch as he grimaces in pain. "Now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you lot!"

"Get in the car, before we have force you!" Trevor punches him in the gut causing Elijah to groan loudly in pain and bend over.

I walk back over to Tyler's car and open the back door, watching as Trevor drags a reluctant Elijah along and pushes him inside before getting in behind him.

I walk around the car and climb in the other side of Elijah and look around to make sure that there is no one about.

Tyler immediately pulls away and starts driving and Elijah rubs at his stomach before turning to face me.

"You don't want to do this, Damon!" Elijah hisses at me. "When Klaus finds out…"

"He'll do what? Hurt me? Kill me? I'm expecting all of the above already!"

"We need answers, Elijah." Trevor grips onto his shoulder again and he winces in pain. "Now."

"I don't know anything."

Tyler scoffs from up front and looks back at us through the mirror. "And you expect us to believe that?"

"Yes. I haven't lived in Mystic Falls for three years now! You really think I still care about this imprudent gang mess anymore?"

"Yes because you and Finn were the ones who started this!" Tyler hits back. "Don't give me that bullshit about how much you've moved on, you may act courteous and speak correct English but you're not fooling anyone!"

"Look," I interrupt calmly. "We just want to know what Klaus is planning, why he's back in town so we can be ready for him."

"I told you, I do not know why he is back!"

"I don't believe him." Trevor glances at me and I nod my head in agreement.

Tyler's right, Elijah always used to hide behind his polite etiquette and quiet mannerisms even back when he was younger, but this is still the same Elijah who broke my arm when I was 16 by hitting me with a baseball bat on Halloween.

Unlike Klaus and Kol, Elijah actually has a brain. He's smart, too smart and that always used to work against us back when he was still living in Mystic Falls. He always used to have the upper hand, and it wasn't until he moved away to college and it was left to Klaus to take the lead when they started to lose all their advantages and power.

There's a reason that people used to be scared of him.

"Me neither," I confirm and watch as Elijah scowls and shakes his head in annoyance.

"You're making an immense mistake, boys."

"Yeah well…" I watch as Tyler parks his car the closest to the woods as possible. "We never do things by halves." I pull off my tie and shove it in his mouth tightly, gagging him, causing him to groan and try and pull it off but Trevor drags him out of the car before he gets the chance.

Tyler grabs his other arm and the two of them pull him through the woods as I trail behind, making sure that no one is about as we reach the old Lockwood cellars and take Elijah in there.

We tie him up with discarded rope that is already down there, keeping my tie gagged in his mouth and I pull out Elijah's phone from my pocket and turn it on, thankful that the fall it had from Trevor earlier hasn't made any permanent damage to the phone except for the new crack on the screen.

I scroll through his contacts, passing the usual suspects before stopping on Klaus. I debate on whether or not to call or text but then I stop myself and slip the phone back into my dress pants pocket.

"What you waiting for?" Tyler asks confused and I look down at Elijah who is struggling to try and break himself loose from our tight ropes.

"Let's not inform Klaus of this yet," I walk over to Elijah and pull my tie from his mouth and he starts to cough before looking up at me with angry eyes.

"You're going to regret this, Salvatore!" he hisses at me.

I chuckle and watch as Trevor punches Elijah in the jaw and he groans in pain as his head swings to the side.

"Tell me what Klaus is doing back here, Elijah!" Trevor shouts in his face but the second eldest Mikaelson keeps quiet and doesn't break eye contact.

This continues for a few hours, each of us attempting to get Elijah to speak but him refusing, no matter how much we beat him and threaten him, he doesn't break.

I look down at my watch to see that it's almost 6am, we've been here all night and we haven't gotten anywhere!

I walk over to Trevor who is sat away from Elijah in the corner, his head rested against the wall behind him, his eyes squinting from lack of sleep. "What if he doesn't actually know anything?" I ask him in a low tone, very careful to make sure that Elijah cannot hear this conversation.

"He knows something, trust me." Trevor replies firmly. "We're just going to have to think of a new tactic."

I look over at Elijah, blood dripping down his face as his head hangs low, his eyes closed as if he is sleeping but I know that he's awake.

Tyler is circling him, probing him to speak up and tell us what he knows about Klaus but he just stays silent, refusing to answer and it's really starting to piss me off.

"He's going to have to say something eventually." Trevor tells me reassuringly. "We just need to hold tight and not back down."

I nod my head before leaning it back against the wall, hoping that we won't have to be here for much longer.

* * *

A knock on the door from downstairs echoes around the house and I groan before pulling myself up from my desk chair and running down the stairs to answer it, knowing that Jeremy is too lazy to do so and my Aunt Jenna is spending the day out with Alaric.

I swing the door open and my eyebrows shoot up in surprise when I see who it is.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" I ask confused and watch as she offers me a small smile.

"Sorry to show up on your doorstep like this," she apologizes and I lean back further into the door motioning her to come in before shutting it behind us. "Is Damon here?"

I frown confused. "Um…no? Why? What's going on?" My heart starts to pound against my chest and a sickly feeling makes its way to the pit of my stomach.

"Nothing! Nothing's going on." She tells me reassuringly but I can see the look of worry on her face. "Have you spoken to him today?"

"Not yet," I admit "But it's early, I just figured he'd still be asleep…"

"I've just been over to his house; Stefan said he hasn't seen him." Rose shakes her head and I can see she is starting to get annoyed. "I told Trevor not to come back here!"

"What? Trevor's back?" I ask surprised, fear starting to overtake me when realization smacks me in the face.

This is about Klaus.

"He left Duke last night, I told him not to! I told him not to get involved but he couldn't help himself! I should have known the second that I found out that Kol had started up this stupid gang war bullshit again that something like this would happen! I should have guessed that Kol was planning something and that it had to do with Klaus! There is no way he would have threatened Damon otherwise."

Wait. _What_?

"What? What are you talking about?" I throw out confused, trying to get my head around everything she is telling me.

I watch as her eyes widen slightly and she immediately bites on her bottom lip nervously. "You don't know?" I give her a look that confirms it and she immediately cringes. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Rose!" I hiss at her furiously. "Don't, don't do that. What did you mean about Kol starting up a gang war? He threatened Damon? When?"

Why didn't he tell me?

"Elena…"

Then it hits me.

Tyler getting beat up so bad he ends up in hospital, the rumors spread about Damon killing Katherine and then the graffiti on his locker.

Klaus being back.

"This happened last week, didn't it? _That's_ what happened to Tyler."

I let out a dry laugh of disbelief as I let this information sink in.

Damon knew what was going on and he flat out lied to me. I asked him, I _asked_ him straight up and he told me that nothing was going on.

_"Promise me." I tell him firmly. "Promise me that you're telling me the truth." I ask of him seriously, my eyes watching his icy blue ones._

_He stays silent for a moment and stares at me and my heart starts to pound against my chest._

_He can't do it._

_"Ok." He eventually speaks and I feel my body relax with relief. "I promise."_

He promised me.

God I am such an idiot!

"Was Damon there?" I question Rose angrily. "When Tyler got beat up, or _mugged_ as they claimed, was Damon there? Was he involved?"

Rose looks down guiltily before slowly nodding her head and I let out another bitter laugh and shake my head in disbelief.

Damon was the one person in my life who never lied to me, who I thought would _never_ lie to me.

My entire life has been built up on lies and secrets, and now I find out that the one person I thought I could trust over anyone else in the world and who I could rely on to always tell me the truth has been keeping things from me too?

I can't deal with this right now.

"Elena I'm so sorry." Rose apologises sincerely, her voice clearly showing her guilt. "I thought you knew."

"Yeah well I didn't. God he probably went chasing after Klaus the second he left here last night! I should have known he wouldn't let this go, how could I be so stupid? I feel like such an idiot!" I rant in frustration.

"Look, Damon and Klaus…it's complicated. You've got to realise that Damon isn't himself when it comes to Klaus…this goes back a long time, long before even Katherine came into the picture."

I run my hand through my hair and sigh defeated. "Look I'm sorry but can you just…"

"Yeah," she smiles softly at me nods her head in understanding before walking back towards the front door. "You should call Damon."

"Yeah, like he'd answer and put me first if Klaus is here." I scoff bitterly and open the door and watch Rose send me another guilty look before leaving.

I close the door and lean back against it and close my eyes, trying my hardest to fight back the tears.

I never thought _Damon_ would make me feel like this.

* * *

I frown when I hear footsteps coming down the old steps of the Lockwood cellar, Elijah immediately starts shouting for help and Tyler quickly covers his mouth with his hand, I pick up a wooden plank that's been left down here and brace myself for whoever is coming down, part of me anxious that it's going to be Klaus.

"Rose!" I let my shoulders sag in relief and drop the wood to the floor and watch as Rose eyes the situation with wide eyes.

"What the hell is going on here?!" she sounds furious and Trevor takes three long strides towards her.

"Baby, let me explain…" he goes in a tirade of apologies but I stop listening and turn back to Elijah, crouching down in front of him.

"We're not going to back down, you might as well just tell us what Klaus wants."

"Never." He spits out angrily and I glare at him before punching him in the face, he groans loudly in pain causing Rose's attention to be drawn to us.

"What the hell are you doing, Damon?" I stand up and walk towards her as she stands looking furious at me.

"What do you think?"

"This isn't you! Not anymore!"

"Wrong! When it comes to Klaus, this is me!" I hiss at her. "He's after me, Rose, I don't have a choice!"

"What? Even if it means losing Elena? You're really going to risk that for _him_?! Damon this is kidnapping! This is assault! You're still on probation, you both are!" she looks over at Tyler who cringes slightly and looks away.

"Elena isn't involved in this." I defend myself immediately. I watch as a guilty expression crosses her face and I frown confused. "Rose?"

"I thought she knew Damon…"

"Ah…so it seems Damon Salvatore has a weak link." Elijah comments with amusement in his tone but I just ignore him, and judging by the loud scream of pain coming from behind me I'm guessing Tyler has done something as punishment.

"_What_?" I gawp at her in disbelief. "What did you do? What did you tell her?"

"I mentioned the whole gang crap starting up again with Kol before I realized she didn't know anything about it…"

Shit.

I turn on my heel and run, ignoring Trevor's shouts asking where I'm going and run up the concrete steps and into the woods, the sunlight surprising me despite knowing the time as I break out into a sprint.

I need to see Elena, _now_.

I get to her house in record time, out of breath, panting and sweat covering my forehead but I knock on the door before I lean down and press my hands against my knees while I regain my breathing.

When no one answers I knock again and ring the doorbell and eventually the door opens but unfortunately not who I want to see.

"Hey," I grumble at Jeremy and go to walk past him into the house but he blocks me off standing in the doorway between the wall and the door. "What are you doing? Move."

"You're not coming in here." He tells me with a firm voice and I scowl at him.

"Move Gilbert, before I make you!"

"No. I don't know what's going on, but my sister has been crying in her bedroom for the last hour and I'm guessing it has something to do with you!" he glares at me furiously. "Now get off our property, Damon, before I call the cops for trespassing."

"Elena! ELENA!" I try and shout over Jeremy's shoulder but he just pushes me back and slams the door in my face.

Fuck!

I quickly come up with a new idea though and run around to the side of the house and climb up the wooden trellis fence on the side of her house, as I reach her window, I look inside to see her lying in bed with her back facing me.

I cringe with guilt at the sight before tapping lightly on her window, watching as her body jumps slightly in fright before she rolls over to face me. I see her eyes widen slightly and the sick feeling in my stomach hits me again when I notice her red eyes.

I'm the biggest asshole on the planet.

"Elena!" I call through her closed window as she sits up but doesn't leave her bed to let me in. "Please baby, let me in."

"I don't want to see you, Damon." I hear faintly through the glass.

I glance down at my feet which are slipping on the trellis and back up at her. "Elena please…"

"Fine." She huffs and opens her window "But only because I don't want you to fall to your death, despite how angry I am at you right now." She says coldly as she walks away from the window as I climb inside.

She stands with her back to me, her arms crossed and wrapped around herself in a protective stance and I slowly walk towards her from behind. "Please, just let me explain…" I touch her shoulder but she flinches away and swings around to face me, her eyes glistening with fresh tears.

"What's there to explain, Damon?" she asks angrily. "You lied to me, you kept secrets from me, I really don't think there is another explanation."

"I couldn't tell you…" I plead. "I wanted to, Elena, I did, but I was protecting you…"

"Protecting me?" she scoffs in disbelief and then I watch as she takes me in for the first time. "Is that blood on your shirt?"

My eyes widen and I look down and she's right. There are splashes of blood on my shirt and it's not mine.

Fuck, why did I not notice this earlier?

"Where have you been, Damon?" there's a hint of worry in her voice but mostly it's anxiousness and agitation. I stay silent and turn my head away, if only to hide my shame. "Oh my god, you're still in your clothes from last night! Your knuckles are red and you have blood that's clearly not yours on your shirt! Where have you been Damon?!" her voice is raised now and I run my hand through my hair shakily. "God! Why did I ever think you'd be able to let this go? What did you do? I'm guessing that's Klaus' blood on you…"

She looks at me and she must notice my expression because she lets out another gasp of disbelief. "Who's blood is it, Damon?" she demands.

"Elijah's." I mumble quietly.

"Oh my god," she throws her hands up in disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" I plead with her desperately.

"You promised me, Damon, you looked me in the eye and you _promised_ me that nothing was going on! How could you do that to me?! You knew how I felt about finding out that pretty much my entire family have lied to me from the moment I was born, I only found out last week then days later you do the same? You were the one person I thought I could trust to always tell me the truth!" She's shouting at me but her voice is shaky and tears are falling from her eyes and I _hate_ myself.

"And then last night…when you told me you'd stay away from Klaus? When you promised to be the better man, the first thing you do when my back is turned is go chasing after his brother doing God knows what to him?! What is wrong with you, Damon?!"

"It wasn't like that!" I defend myself. "I didn't plan it, I swear Elena, I didn't! But Trevor and Tyler they found me on my way home and…"

"And what? They kidnapped you and dragged you with them to do whatever the hell you've been doing all night? They brainwashed you? What Damon? _What_?!"

"You don't understand! Klaus he's…God, Elena!" I clench my fists in frustration. "It's _hard_!"

"I know it's hard, I do. But can't you see what you're doing? You're ruining everything for revenge! It's crazy!"

"Don't you think I know that? I know it's crazy, but I never think clearly when it comes to him, Elena, I never have!"

"Yeah well…this time I thought it would be different, I thought you'd realize you had something to fight for." She shakes her head sadly and wipes at her eyes.

"I'm sorry." I tell her quietly, "You don't know how pathetic I feel that the moment you're not by my side I crumble! I can't do this without you, Elena."

"Well apparently you can, because you've been doing it without me all week and I've been completely oblivious to it all like an idiot. Would you have ever told me?" she asks seriously and I stay silent. "I can't deal with this right now, Damon." She sounds defeated and it's because of me and it breaks my heart. "Please…can you leave?"

"Elena!" I cross the room towards her and take her hands in mine. "Please, let me stay with you! I won't go after Klaus, I won't do anything…I'll stay here with you and we'll fix this!"

"And then what? You leave tomorrow for school and you run into someone from your own gang again and you're back to getting into fights and keeping secrets from me? Lying to me?"

"I won't. I promise." I can feel my eyes stinging with tears.

"I'm sorry, Damon, but your promises don't really mean anything to me anymore." She says bitterly and pulls her hands out of my tight grip. "Please…just go…I can't deal with this."

"I can't leave things like this, Elena, not with you."

"I need space." She looks down at the floor. "From you…from all this drama. I just found out that I'm adopted, Damon, my head is…_spinning_ constantly, everything I thought was real, wasn't, and I thought I could distract myself by helping you, I really thought that if I could help you get through Kol being an ass and Klaus being back in town, that I wouldn't have to deal with all these lies and secrets, but I can't. This is _too_ much; I am so close to just _breaking_. Please…"

"Elena…"

"Damon, _please_." Her voice shakes and a sob escapes her lips and all I want to do is pull her in for a hug and hold her tightly, never letting her go.

I hate that I'm the cause of this.

I hate myself.

"Ok." I nod my head and go to climb out the window again but turn around. "But I'm promising you right now, Elena, that I'm going to stay away from Klaus. You're right…I should have been stronger, Tyler and Trev, they didn't force me to get in that car last night…I did it, I was weak and stupid and I wasn't thinking clearly. But I've realized that you're so much more important to me than getting revenge, I love you, Elena. Please…just…I hope one day you'll forgive me."

I watch as more tears fall from her eyes and when she doesn't say anything I know that I need to leave.

I just hope that she will forgive me…and this space she needs isn't permanent.

I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost Elena forever.

I jump down from the trellis and keep walking, ignoring the cold bite in the air as my thin shirt blows in the wind, I ignore the ringing of my phone when I see that it's Tyler because I can't go back there.

I need to prove to Elena that I can be strong, that I can stay away from this.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it can stay away from me because before I even get the chance to react, screeching tires make me jump and the last thing I feel is a thud against my head and I black out.

* * *

I don't know how long I've been unconscious for but when I wake up, my head is pounding and my entire body aches. I can feel something wet on the back of my head and it takes me a few seconds to realize that its blood.

I open my eyes wider, trying to ignore the pain and look around, realizing that I'm tied to a chair in the middle of what looks like some kind of abandoned warehouse and I realize it's one of the ones in the old estate where the shooting took place last year…

Which only means one thing.

"OH look who finally decided to join us." I look up to see Klaus's cocky smirk, an evil glint in his eye as he strides towards me. Before I can even say anything he strikes me in the face and I groan loudly in pain and can feel my lip start to bleed.

Klaus grabs a chunk of my hair and pulls my head back to face him. "I know you have Elijah." He tells me with a casual tone to his voice, he holds up his brothers phone and I realize they must have took it from my pockets. "Are you going to tell me where he is?"

"Go fuck yourself." I hiss at him angrily and he chuckles before striking another blow to my face. I flinch in pain, but at least this time I don't make any sound to show my agony.

"Luckily for you, Damon, this isn't a negotiation because you really aren't very good at it, are you?" He smirks at me and I realize this must have been planned before we took Elijah.

Oh the irony.

"What do you want from me, Klaus?" I ask tiredly. "I stopped chasing you…I moved on."

"You call kidnapping my brother moving on?" he chuckles and pulls a gun out of his pocket and I immediately start to struggle against the ropes holding me to the chair but Klaus just watches me with a grin. "Don't bother." He tells me before kicking at my chair and I go crashing to the ground with a bang, lying awkwardly on my side, still tied to the chair. "You see, Damon…I don't understand you."

I stay silent as I struggle to breathe, my side hurting from the fall and my head is still killing me.

"Why would _you_ chase _me_? Haven't you done enough?" he bends down in front of me but his smile is gone.

"You shot me!"

"Yes, and then you took Katherine from me." He stands up and kicks me in the gut before lifting up my chair again so I'm back to sitting down.

"Fuck you. You did this, Klaus, not me! What is this? Haven't you done enough? What the hell do you want from me?"

"I want revenge!" he roars at me, his voice loud and angrily. "I want revenge for what you did! For what you took from me!"

"What I took from you? What about what _you_ took from _me_? Why do you need any more revenge? You've had enough!"

"You ruined my life! And then you had the nerve to come after me? Wasn't I punished enough? I loved her, I loved her and you took her from me!" his entire body is shaking with rage.

"Fuck you, Klaus. You did this!"

"I fell in love. You couldn't handle that Katherine chose me over you, you couldn't handle that I won!" he starts pacing up and down. "I'm going to make you suffer, Damon, I'm going to make you suffer so much for what you did! I've waited _months_ for this! _Months_!"

I stay silent as he continues his rant and watch as he stops pacing and strides back towards me.

"You are going to pay for what you did, Damon." He spits out furiously and I look up at him with an angry glare.

He bends down and pushes his gun underneath my chin and I gulp slightly. "It's not nice is it? Having a gun pointed in your face. But then again…you know all about that don't you." He goads me before pressing the gun further into me.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Katherine. I'm going to make sure that you _suffer_ just like she probably did, only this is going to be worse, because unlike what you did, I'm going to drag this out. I'm going to make you experience pain in the worst possible way. I'm going to torture you. I'm going to destroy you."

He stands up and I feel my shoulders sag with relief as the gun leaves with him, as he stands up straight on his feet and looks down at me.

"You killed Katherine, you shot her, you took her from me, and I'm going to make sure you crumble in pain and suffering for it."

Wait, what?

_What_ _the hell_?

* * *

**Hmmm...this just got interesting! **

**Has Klaus actually lost it or is there more to the story of what happened that night then both of them realize? Who knows! Review and let me know what you think of this chapter and I'll give you all some answers in the next chapter!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you're all amazing! My muses!**

**Until next time :)**


	32. Chapter 32

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Going to do something slightly different in this chapter - The first flashback is going to be from Klaus's POV and the second Katherine's. **

* * *

_**April 2012**_

"You know what your biggest weakness has always been, Salvatore." I smirk at Damon and raise my eyebrow at him, watching as he shifts on his feet, despite looking nervous and uncomfortable at my gun pointing towards him, he doesn't seem that terrified.

He should be.

"No but I'm sure you're about to tell me." He motions for me to hurry along and I let out a dry laugh and shake my head.

"You _always_ underestimate me."

I pull the trigger of the gun before I can second guess myself and I watch as Damon's body goes tumbling back into the gravel behind him.

Katherine screams and rushes down to him, cradling his head in her arms and I clench my jaw and put my gun back in my pocket.

"You bastard!" Katherine looks up at me with tear filled eyes "Why would you do this?! This wasn't part of the plan!"

"He needed to be reminded of who runs this town! No one can beat me." I tell her firmly and watch as she looks at me horrified.

Oh please, like she's innocent in all of this. Who do you think was the one who tipped us off that Damon and his gang were planning on bringing guns with them tonight?

"You're sick!" she spits out at me furiously before turning her attention back to Damon. "Give me your phone; we need to call an ambulance!"

"No can do sweetheart. Ambulance equals police. Now get in the car."

"He's going to die!" she argues. "I know you hate him, but this is too much! Even for you, Klaus! I'm not going to leave him here!"

"Katherine." I grit my teeth and stroll towards her, grabbing her wrist tightly and pulling her to her feet, not letting go despite her trying to get out of my grasp. "Get. In. The. Car."

"No."

"We need to get out of here! I need to get out of here!"

"Then go!"

I look at her in disbelief and let go of her wrist. "Without you?"

"I'm not leaving him." She tells me stubbornly. "I know I've done some questionable things, but I won't leave someone to die!"

I run my hand over my head and jump slightly at the sound of a gunshot in the distance, knowing that anyone can come over at any second and he would be done for.

"Katherine! We need to go, _now_! We need to leave Mystic Falls!"

"And I told you, Klaus, I'm not leaving Damon after you just fucking shot him!"

"He's Damon Salvatore, the bastard was born lucky! He's not going to die! Besides, his gang aren't too far away, they'll find him! Katherine I mean it, we need to go and we need to go now!"

She shakes her head and I take a step back in shock. "Kat, _please_."

"I love you Klaus, but I can't…"

"No."

"This is too much, this has gone too far! You weren't supposed to shoot Damon! You were just supposed to scare him! Look at him!" she points down to his motionless body, blood staining his t-shirt from his bullet wound in his stomach. "Just go without me."

"No! I love you; I'm not going without you! Kat, come with me, right now!"

"I can't! Go, Klaus. I mean it…I'll come find you, but right now…you need to get out of here! You just _shot_ someone, there's no going back from this!"

"I did it for you," I plead with her. "I did it to get you away from him!"

She looks a little guilty for a second before her she snaps herself out of her gaze "I know, I know." She walks towards me and places her hands on each side of my cheeks. "Go. I'll be ok, I'll go find someone and call an ambulance, I'll even wait long enough for you to get away from here but you need to go now and I can't go with you."

I look at her dark eyes before nodding my head and pressing my lips against hers in a searing kiss, she kisses me back fiercely, her hands wrapping into my hair as I pull her against me.

We pull away once we run out of breath and I press my forehead against hers. "Meet me. Meet me at our motel, we'll go from there."

"Ok." She nods her head and presses another kiss onto my lips. "I'll see you soon."

I reluctantly let her go and run towards her car, jumping inside and speeding away without looking back.

Not knowing that that would be the last time I ever saw Katherine Pierce alive.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I look up at Klaus in disbelief as he grips onto his gun tightly. "Stop trying to pin this on me! We both know what happened that night!"

"I should have made sure you were dead!" he hisses at me coldly, completely ignoring my words. "I should have shot you repeatedly until you were just a body with an unbeating heart lying in a blooded mess on the dirt!"

"Yeah well you didn't, did you?" I glare at him.

"Oh it's not too late, Damon." He chuckles at me and swings his handgun around his fingers. "You know, this gun…does it look familiar to you?" he bends back down in front of me and holds his gun in front of my face. When I don't reply he continues. "This is the gun I shot you with…almost a year ago now, wasn't it?" he reaches for my shirt and lifts it up, despite me trying to pull away from his grasp.

But I'm tied to a chair. There's not much I can do.

"I see you have a scar, good." He nods his head "I hope every time you see it you think of me." He smirks at me and I glare at him furiously.

"There's something wrong with you, Klaus, you're deranged. I think you should go see someone, a shrink maybe? What is it? Daddy issues? Mommy didn't love you? Oh, maybe it's sibling rivalry? What's wrong? Couldn't live up to Elijah's reputation? Diddum's."

I barely finish my sentence before his fist lands in my face, hooking me straight in the right eye so hard that I nearly lose my balance and fall to the side. My head throbs even harder from the sensation and I can feel the blood from the back of my head dripping down my neck.

"When are you ever going to learn to just shut your mouth?" he scoffs and turns around as a door in the corner opens and I let out a dry laugh when I see who it is.

Kol.

Of course.

"Good afternoon, Salvatore." Kol grins as he walks through the empty warehouse towards me. "You ok? You look a little…tied up."

"Fuck you." I spit at him furiously and watch as he chuckles and looks over at Klaus.

"Is he like this with you too or am I lucky enough to get special treatment?"

"He's still in the denial stage." Klaus shrugs "But he'll confess soon enough. I'll have him begging for mercy at my feet, crying for forgiveness."

I look at Klaus with a frown. "You can't seriously blame me for what happened? You're the fucking psycho that killed her!"

"Now who's the psycho? What's wrong, Damon? Did you black out? Huh? Is that it? Why can't you just be a _man_ and admit it to me! Admit that you shot Katherine!" he grabs my shoulder and shakes me. "GO ON! TELL ME!" he screams in my face and I don't think even I can hide my shock.

Does he genuinely believe that I shot Katherine? How the heck…

Then a realisation hits me. "Are you recording this? Trying to get me to make a false confession into killing Katherine to get you off the hook? Well don't bother, you can't pin this on me! There may not be any evidence, but everyone in this town knows it was _you_!"

Klaus chuckles and looks at Kol with a look of disbelief on his face and I really am beginning to question his actual sanity. I honestly think he is deranged. "Is he serious?"

"Probably." Kol sneers at me before planting a punch of his own into my groin. I groan loudly in pain and bend over as far as I can go, because this all just hurts.

"Now…" Klaus lifts my head up by my hair and looks at me with cold eyes. "We aren't going anywhere until you start talking."

"Then we're going to be here a while because I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." I spit out at him back, my voice sharp and cold and I'm not even surprised by the next blow to my face.

* * *

I wake up for school the next day feeling miserable, I feel empty and lost and hurt and angry and confused.

I don't know what to think. I don't know what to do.

I can't believe Damon would do this to me, to us. The lying and the secrets, it's bad enough but to know that the second my back was turned on Saturday night he was off getting himself into trouble, doing God knows what.

Doesn't he know that one wrong move and that's it? He'd be sent down and I'd be left on my own? Did he ever think about that? About our future? About _his_?

I shake my head and snap myself out of my thoughts. I don't want to think about this anymore, if Damon can prove that he can put his future and our relationship before getting revenge on Klaus then we'll work this out, until then, I need to stop thinking about his lies before I drive myself crazy.

When I get to school and sit in first period, watching as the bell rings and Damon's seat is still empty. I'm not surprised that he's skipped school but it still pisses me off that he's ruining his attendance record even more.

Biology passes by boringly and I ignore the concerned face of Bonnie beside me as she asks me if I'm ok. I shrug and tell her I'm fine before quickly leaving the room when the bell goes.

By third period, I realize that Tyler isn't in school either, which means that Damon is probably off gallivanting around with him getting into trouble.

Lunch time comes and I give in, sending a text to Damon, asking where he is and why he's not at school.

Fourth period when he doesn't reply, I start to feel worried that he's gone and done something stupid.

By the end of the day I'm back to feeling angry at him for putting me through this, knowing that he's probably running around town with Tyler and Trevor, risking everything for revenge.

I walk out of the school doors and see Stefan sat outside on a picnic bench in the courtyard, tossing a football up and down in his hand and I head across towards him.

"Elena," he looks up with a smile when he notices me. "Hi, you ok?"

"Have you seen Damon?" I ask straight away, getting to the point and I almost feel guilty when the smile on his face falter's slightly.

"No, can't say I have. I noticed he hasn't been in school today, he gone back to skipping already?" I sigh and shrug and I watch as Stefan places the football on the floor below him. "Look, Elena, Klaus is back…it's probably thrown him through a loop. If he's avoiding you, it's probably just because he doesn't want you to see him so agitated and wound up." I'm surprised at the defensive words for his brother. Really surprised.

"He's not avoiding me…" I trail off and frown. At least I don't think he is avoiding me. I know I asked for space, and I'm so angry and upset with him right now but why is _he_ ignoring _my_ text messages?

Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Then again, nothing is ever simple when it comes to Damon Salvatore.

"Well he's avoiding home," Stefan sighs "My Dad is going crazy about it, I swear he just wants to lock Damon in a room until Klaus leaves town again to stop him getting into trouble. He keeps trying to contact Damon but he's just ignoring our calls and messages, honestly, I thought he'd be staying with you…"

I frown confused. "Wait, so he hasn't been home at all?"

"Nope." Stefan shakes his head.

I think back to yesterday morning when Damon came to my house still wearing his clothes from the night before and I realize that whatever the hell they are doing with Elijah Mikaelson isn't just a quick fist up.

This just keeps getting better and better.

"Great," I mutter with a sigh "Thanks Stefan."

"Anytime, Elena." He smiles softly at me before standing up. "If you want, I could quickly drive you back to my house and we can see if he's there? I can be a little late for practice."

I debate it but shake my head, deciding against it. "No it's ok; I don't want to see him I just want at least a text or a quick call…"

"Why don't you want to see him?"

I go to shut him down, because this is my ex-boyfriend but he doesn't seem to have any hidden agendas and he was my friend once, a very good friend. "We had a fight…I've asked for some space."

"Ah." Stefan muses and sends me a sympathetic smile. "Well there's your answer, Elena." He tells me with a reassuringly. "I know my brother; he's probably off at some bar sulking into a tumbler of whiskey until he snaps out of it and comes back begging for your forgiveness. Trust me, he'll be fine, it's Damon, he always is."

"Yeah," I smile sadly. "I just wish that Klaus hadn't come back…or that Kol was such an ass."

Stefan touches my arm sympathetically "Kol's always been an ass, but a harmless one really, at least compared to his brothers so you shouldn't worry about him, and as for Klaus…well…that's a whole other story but if Damon has sense he'll stay away from him, Klaus…he's dangerous and…unpredictable. Nobody could have called what happened last spring, but Damon, he got over Katherine, now he just needs to get over his hatred of Klaus, it may not seem possible right now, but he will."

"Why are you defending him? You two were biting each other's heads off the other day."

"When someone comes back to town who once tried to kill your brother, it kind of shifts your emotions a bit. As much as Damon and I fight and…_disagree _on a _lot_ of things, he's still my brother, and I don't want to see him hurt, just like I'd hope he wouldn't want to see me hurt." He smiles sadly at me and I nod my head.

"He loves you, Stefan, you know that, right?"

He shrugs and looks over at my shoulder before bending down to pick up his discarded football. "Look, I gotta go I've got practice."

"Ok, thanks for this Stefan…you've made me feel better."

"Anytime, Elena. Despite my recent behavior, I would like us to be friends again at some point."

I nod my head at him and he gives me a smile before jogging away and I sigh loudly before heading towards my car.

Stefan's right, Damon is probably drowning his sorrows somewhere. If not, then I don't want to even think about what he might be doing with Elijah, or worse, Klaus.

* * *

"AHH!" I scream loudly in pain as Klaus runs the blade of a knife across my collarbone. "Stop!"

"Not until you confess!" Klaus hisses into my face and I shake my head, my body aching in pain but I'm so tired I don't have any energy.

"I don't know anything, Klaus, I swear." I get out between shaky breaths. "I didn't kill Katherine!"

My face feels sticky with dried blood mixed with fresh. My ribs hurt when I breath from all the punches I've had there over the past 24 hours. My wrists are red raw from the tightness of the thick rough rope wrapped around them.

When Klaus pulled out a knife, I knew he was serious about torturing me until he gets answers.

Unfortunately for me, I don't have any.

As far as I know, Klaus killed Katherine and he is just using this as an excuse to beat the crap out of me.

_That_ or he really has lost his fucking mind.

"YOU'RE LYING!" Klaus screams into my face and I flinch at his closeness and the loud roar of his voice.

"Why would I kill her? She was my girlfriend! I cared about her!"

"Because you were jealous? Because you found out that she was planning on leaving you for _me_! That even after I shot you, she was going to leave Mystic Falls with me! We were going to be together! And you TOOK HER FROM ME! YOU KILLED HER!"

I frown confused, my entire body trembling with pain and I shake my head furiously.

"You're wrong, Klaus! I swear to God you are wrong!"

The sound of a door opening interrupts us and I watch as Kol struts in, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Ouch Salvatore, that looks painful." He comments to my new wound across the top of my chest and I give him my best glare through the pain. "So…you got some answers yet?" he directs the question at Klaus.

"No. He's being stubborn and still playing the dumb ignorant act. I do wonder how much more pain he can take…" Klaus presses the blade of the knife against my cheek and my heart pounds in my chest, waiting for the pain that I know is about to come but I sigh in relief when he pulls it away. "I'm starting to think he has a high pain threshold and all of this is just a waste, I mean, I have his blood stained on this really nice shirt. It's dry clean only."

"Maybe we can find another way," Kol smirks then looks at me with a wide smile. "Maybe we can really hit him where it really hurts him."

Klaus looks intrigued and turns to face his brother, folding his arms against his chest. "You have my attention little brother."

"It's quite simple really, in fact, I'm surprised you haven't thought of it first." He continues to look at me, a sick smirk on his face. "We go after the one thing he loves more than anything in the world." My heart starts to pound even faster and a sick feeling hits the pit of my stomach and I do almost throw up when the next sentence falls from his mouth. He looks at me dead in the eye as he says it. "We go after Elena."

Klaus howls with laughter and claps his hands before patting Kol on the back. "Now _that_ is a brilliant idea."

"You touch a hair on her head and I swear to god I will fucking kill you!" I start to pull on the ropes holding me to the chair, desperate to get loose and stop this.

"Wow, this really is touchy subject for you isn't it." Klaus looks at me amused.

"I mean it; I will make you wish you were never born! You call _this_ torture? You go after Elena, and I will fucking show you _torture_!"

Klaus waves me off with his hand and turns back to face Kol. "Do you know where she lives?"

"I do." Kol smirks and then glances back at me. "Nice little house with her aunt and brother in the middle of town."

I try to pull out of the ropes but it's too strong. I try to stand up but I can't. I try to do something, _anything_, to stop this.

But I _can't_.

All the pain I just felt, all the cuts and bruises, all the blood. It means nothing.

"Off you go then," Klaus motions for Kol to leave and he winks at me before turning to leave.

"KOL! DON'T DO THIS! YOU CAN DO ANYTHING TO ME BUT LEAVE ELENA OUT OF THIS! KOL! KOL! COME BACK HERE! KOL!" I'm screaming and I'm aware of the tears falling down my face but I'm desperate. "KOL PLEASE!"

"Oh shut it will you Salvatore, you're giving me a headache." Klaus rolls his eyes at me and the last thing I see before he knocks me unconscious with the back of his gun is the sick smirk on Kol's face that he sends my way before he leaves the warehouse.

* * *

"Jeremy are you going to get that?" I shout in annoyance as the sound of my doorbell rings yet again, whoever it is, is really impatient. "Jer?"

No answer.

Great, I guess I'm home alone. Good to know my family like to say goodbye.

I stand up and walk down the stairs to my door and when I swing it open I frown confused because this is the second time in the space of just a couple of days that this has happened.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" I ask tiredly, and also a little annoyed to see her. The last time she was here it didn't end so well for my relationship with Damon.

I do not want to hear anything else right now.

She looks sheepish and glances over her shoulder and my frown deepens when I see Trevor and Tyler standing at the bottom of my porch, almost like they are too scared to stand at my door.

"What's going on?" I ask confused and a feeling of fear enters my stomach when I notice there is one person missing. "Where's Damon?"

"He's not here then?" Rose asks and my frown deepens, my heart starting to pound hard against my chest.

"No…I thought he was with you guys."

Rose turns around and motions for Tyler and Trevor to come over and I do my best to bite my tongue and hold back against shouting at them for bringing Damon back into this whole stupid mess.

"He's not here." She says to them both and I hear Tyler curse underneath his breath and run his hand over his hair.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on? Where's Damon?!" I'm starting to panic now and Rose turns around to face me quickly.

"Ok, don't panic…"

"What do you mean, don't panic? No one seems to know where my boyfriend is! Where is he?!" I ask them, my voice raising and when Rose fails to answer I turn to Tyler. "Tyler, tell me. He's been with you guys all weekend, right?"

Tyler coughs awkwardly. "We haven't seen or heard of him since yesterday morning when he left to go and talk to you."

Before I can go to say anything Rose immediately jumps in. "Look, I mean…you two probably had a fight, so he's probably off at some bar getting drunk and drowning his sorrows." She tells me reassuringly, repeating the theory that Stefan had also given me.

"If that were true, why do those two look so uncomfortable?" I motion to Trevor and Tyler. "Will one of you _please_ just tell me the fucking truth!"

Tyler takes a step forward and lets out another cough before speaking. "Ok…so we don't know for sure but…" he trails off and sends a glance at Rose who just shrugs tiredly before looking down at the floor with a worried expression on her face.

"But what, Tyler?" I snap at him impatiently. "_What_?!"

"We think that Klaus might have him."

I think I literally feel my heart fall down into my stomach.

Oh _god_.

* * *

_**April 2012**_

I run my hand through Damon's dark hair, looking up into the spring night sky frantically, knowing that if I don't get him help soon this isn't going to end well.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

How was I supposed to know that Klaus would actually shoot Damon? I couldn't see that coming…

I ignore the guilt that is creeping inside of me. I ignore all the secret phone calls and meetings I had with my lover behind Damon's back, telling Klaus that Damon was trying to control me, was trying to turn me into someone I'm not and that he was making me miserable.

Klaus promising me he would get me away from Damon Salvatore forever.

The feeling of both excitement and dread that I had at this words, because Damon wasn't controlling me, and he certainly wasn't trying to change me. But how could I explain to Klaus that while I was crazily in love with him, I still wanted Damon?

Not forever, but at least until high school was over and then I could have dumped Damon without having to see his handsome face ever again, keeping me away from his temptations.

Let's be honest, he is rather irresistible. His looks were what attracted me to him the first place, it wasn't even Klaus' hatred that drove me to chase after the eldest Salvatore, it was because I was insanely attracted to him. And sure, the fact that Klaus hated him more than anyone else in the world was an added bonus.

That's the problem with love triangles. The one in the middle can't make a solid decision, they are selfish and want to have their cake and eat too. Or else, it wouldn't be a triangle would there?

Well, that's what happened to me. I want Klaus, but I can't let go of Damon.

I'll hold my hands up and admit that I manipulated both of them; I've lied to both of them, played them against each other.

I even started up a rumor about myself that was very close to being true, that I was cheating on Damon with Klaus. I did it just to make him jealous because he wasn't giving me enough attention, I then manipulated the situation to make it look like it was Klaus who had started the rumor himself just to piss Damon off, which of course, he believed in a second.

Of course, that rumor was what brought me and Klaus back together, while Damon was too busy with his gang to notice, I would sneak off to a motel at the edge of town and meet up with Klaus.

But despite all my secrets and lies, all my sneaking around, I did not want this.

I wipe at my eyes when I realize they are stinging with tears and I lean down and press a kiss to Damon's forehead.

"Don't worry; you're going to be ok." I whisper into the night.

I jump when I hear footsteps and look up to see a dark figure walking through the woods towards us. I let my shoulders sag with relief when I recognize him and I immediately climb to my feet.

"Thank god! We need to call an ambulance."

He doesn't reply, instead he walks closer to us and bends down by Damon, a smirk on his face. "Oh dear, it seems the invincible Damon Salvatore isn't as smart as he'd like to think."

I roll my eyes and reach out to his arm. "Give me your phone; I need to call an ambulance!"

"Where's Klaus?" he holds his phone from me, his eyes wide and serious. "I'm guessing this is his doing?"

"Yes. But don't worry, he's safe, he's left, we're going to leave Mystic Falls tonight, no one will ever know it was him."

"Ah…you see…I can't let that happen."

I frown at him confused. "What? Look…I don't have time for this, just give me your phone so I can call an ambulance and get out of here!"

"I'm sorry, Katherine," he walks around Damon and bends down, picking up Damon's discarded gun from earlier with his glove covered hands and my eyes scrunch together confused but starting to become a little anxious. "But I will not let you ruin my brother's life."

"Kol? What are you doing?"

"I'm not whipped like this bitch," he motions to Damon on the ground "And my big brother, I'm not wrapped around your little finger. You can't use me to suit you. I see through your act, Katherine, I've seen how you use my brother to get what you want, how you manipulate him and mess with his mind."

"I love him." I tell him firmly, my teeth gritted together.

"Now you see the problem here, Katherine, is that I don't believe you know the meaning of the word. You're a menace, and I will not let you ruin my family any more than you have done." He lifts up Damon's gun and points it at me and my eyes widen.

"Kol, _please_. Please don't do this. Klaus will never forgive you." My heart is pounding hard and fast against my chest and I think I'm about to throw up.

"Ah, but I'm doing this for him." He smirks at me. "Besides, Klaus will never know it was me. I mean…this is Damon's gun, right?"

"No." I shake my head, realizing what he's planning on doing. "Don't do this, Kol, please, I'm _begging_ you."

"Unfortunately Katherine, I'm not your bitch to mess around with and I certainly don't take orders from you." He tips his head to the side and sends me a sickly smile.

"Goodbye Katherine."

* * *

**Well there you have it! It was KOL who killed Katherine! Using Damon's gun!**

**Can I just say that I have had this planned from the very start of this story? It was always going to be Kol who shot Katherine, with Damon and Klaus blaming each other! It feels so good to finally have it out there!**

**I hope this answered a lot of questions, especially about the evidence showing that Damon's gun didn't have Klaus' fingerprints and that Klaus' gun wasn't the murder weapon. Klaus is completely ignorant to this, he doesn't have any idea that it was Kol, he genuinely believes that it was Damon. **

**Thank you all lots and lots and lots for reviewing the last chapter! You are all the reason I got this posted tonight, seriously you guys are one big muse for me!**

**I hope you liked this chapter, please let me know :)**

**Until next time! **


	33. Chapter 33

**Crying****Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Sorry for the slight delay! I've had an extremely busy week last week and then an even crazier weekend so I've barely had any time to sit down and finish this chapter! I'm not sure it's my best to be honest, but I hope that you still all enjoy it :)**

* * *

"Why are we just standing around and doing nothing? We need to call the cops!" I stride across my hallway and pick up my house phone but before I can even dial the numbers Trevor has snatched the phone from my hands.

"No. No police." He tells me sternly and I look at him in disbelief.

"My boyfriend is missing, most likely in the hands of a psychopath who only last year tried to _kill_ him! I'm not going to just stand around and do nothing about it! We need to call the police!"

We've been stood in my hallway for at least an hour now, calling around to see if anyone has seen him, but the answer is always _no_.

I try to grab the phone from his hand but he swats my own away. "We can't call the cops, if we call the cops they will find out that we have Elijah."

"Is that what this is about? You took Elijah so Klaus took Damon? I don't care what happens, I just want to find Damon before he gets hurt!" I raise my voice, my body shaking with anger and fear. "Stop thinking about yourself, you know what Klaus is capable of! We need to find Damon!"

"I'm thinking of Damon too! If we go to the police it'll not only be us who get into trouble, but Damon too! He's involved, Elena! No cops."

I go to argue some more but Rose cuts me off. "He's right, Elena. Damon is still on probation, so is Tyler, if we go to the cops with this then that's it, they break their conditions and they end up inside."

"I'd rather that than him being _dead_." I hiss furiously, a wave of panic starting to take over me.

"And if Klaus finds out that we got the cops involved, what the hell do you think will _happen_?!"

"Look, we don't even know for sure that Klaus has him." Tyler interrupts with a soothing voice but it does nothing to calm me down.

Who is he trying to kid? Of course Klaus has Damon.

"Tyler," Trevor shakes his head at him. "Klaus has him." He states simply and I give him my best glare.

"Don't sound too cut up about it!" I hiss angrily.

"Well someone needs to stay calm in all of this since you can't seem to keep it together." He replies back coldly.

"You're an ass. Klaus is doing god knows what to Damon right now! We need to do something, _now_. Stop looking out for yourself and _do_ something!"

"Ok, everyone calm down." Rose steps in. "Do you have Elijah's phone? Maybe we could text Klaus from there to meet…"

Tyler shakes his head. "Damon had Elijah's phone, besides, I doubt even Klaus would fall for that trick. It's pretty obvious that he knows we have Elijah."

"So can't we do some sort of swap? Elijah for Damon?" I suggest.

"No, this isn't as simple as that." Trevor answers. "Elijah may have hinted this morning that this was planned already, I didn't realise it at the time but when we couldn't get in contact with Damon all day it became pretty obvious."

"Well then why don't we find out from Elijah?!"

Tyler runs his hand through his hair. "He won't talk, about anything. We've tried everything, Elena, trust me."

"Well we're not going to get anywhere stood around here, are we? Come on, we should go look for him."

"I agree with that," Rose backs me up. "We need to go find him."

"No." Trevor shakes his head. "You two aren't going anywhere. Me and Tyler will go look for him."

"What?!" I look at him in astonishment. "No way, I'm going!"

"Damon wouldn't want you anywhere near, Klaus, Elena!" Tyler walks towards me so we are standing face to face. "We'll find him, you and Rose stay here."

"I'm not going to sit around and do nothing! I need to find him, Tyler! I _need_ too." If something happens to Damon, I don't know what I'd do. Especially since the last time I saw him we didn't exactly end on good terms.

Right now, I don't care that he lied to me. I don't care that he broke promises, kept secrets and betrayed my trust.

I love him so much, I just want him back and back _safe_.

"We'll find him, Elena." He tells me confidently. "But you need to stay here. Trust me, I will bring him back to you." He tells me firmly and holds onto my arms. I look him in the eyes before slowly nodding my head, fighting back my tears. "Ok?"

"Ok."

He nods slightly at me before turning to Trevor. "Come on lets go, I'll call some of my boys up, get them to look around town too."

"He'll be fine, Elena." Rose tells me reassuringly once the boys leave. I shake my head and I wipe at my eyes that are watering.

This is not happening.

* * *

I'm tired. I'm _so_ tired.

I haven't slept in three days and my entire body is exhausted.

My head is pounding, my entire body aches in pain and I can barely lift myself up. I look through painful squinted eyes to see Kol and Klaus having an intense conversation across the room.

Kol returned a few hours after his departure last night and luckily he came alone. Apparently he couldn't get too Elena yet and I just hope that it stays this way.

She can't be involved in this, she can't be hurt.

She needs to stay safe.

"So what the hell do you suggest we do?" I hear Klaus' voice and I try to pay attention.

"I'll try again tonight; if not then we'll just have to play harder." Kol replies.

"We're running out of time, people will start to notice he's missing by now. If the cops get involved then we're screwed, Kol."

"Don't worry about it."

Klaus walks back over towards me while Kol leaves and I just look down, I don't have the energy to fight.

He pulls up a chair and moves it in front of me, sitting down facing me with a serious look on his face. "I'm starting to get really bored now, Salvatore. We've been here for over two days. Don't you think I have better things to do? As much fun as torturing you is, and _trust me_, it's fun." He smirks at me slightly. "I just want to hear the truth from you; I just want to get some answers."

"What do you want me to say, Klaus? That I shot her? That I killed her? Even if I say it, it wouldn't be the truth. We both know that."

"Why do you insist on lying to me, Damon? You'd think our threat to get Elena would make you want to tell the truth but you clearly do not give a damn."

I try to jump forward to attack him but just like all the other times the thick ropes wrapped tightly around my wrists and ankles keep me attached to this chair.

"She makes you tick," he looks at me amused. "She's your weak spot. What is so special about little Elena Gilbert? She is very different to Katherine…" he muses and I stay silent, clenching my jaw. "I'm guessing her looks had a lot to do with it, I mean…she is rather beautiful, I wouldn't mind a piece of her myself actually."

I let out a small growl but do my best to hold myself together as Klaus chuckles at me.

"Or maybe it was the fact that she was dating your brother? Kol filled me in on all the sordid details. A classic case of sibling rivalry." I grit my teeth together. "I do wonder though, what it is that she sees in _you_. I mean, she's popular, from what I remember she's a cheerleader? Smart, straight 'A' student with a lot of prospects. She's in the prom committee and a member of the young founding family council." He smirks when he sees the expression on my face. "_Yes_, I've done my research. So, my question is, Damon, is that, what is a girl like Elena Gilbert doing with a waste of space no good small town hick like you?"

I stay silent and watch as Klaus leans forward in his chair.

"Answer me!"

Instead, I lean closer to him, as far as the ropes will let me and spit in his face.

I watch with a smirk as he leans back in shock before wiping it from his face with a look of fury and disgust.

"Oh you are going to pay for that."

And I did.

* * *

I'm about to walk into my classroom, already a little late because I didn't even want to come in today, but Rose convinced me to at least come in for my first period in case Damon really has just been on a bender and decides to show up. I reluctantly gave in and did so, knowing that we share our first class together and when I look through the open doorway I see immediately that his desk is empty. I stop with a disappointed sigh and that's when I spot Kol walking along the empty hallway with a smug smile on his face.

I stride towards him furiously, my hand immediately raising high in the air and slapping him in the face. My hand tingles with pain but I don't care.

"What the hell!" Kol clutches his cheek and looks at me.

"Where is he?!" I scream at him angrily.

"I don't know what you're talking about sweetheart." He smirks at me.

"You know fine well what I'm talking about you bastard! I swear to God if you've even touched a hair on his head! Where is he?! Where's Damon?!"

"_OH_ you mean _Damon_?" he asks with a chuckle, a fake look of realisation crossing his face. "Next time you should be a little more specific darling."

"Urgh!" I go to hit him again but he grabs my wrist and holds onto it tightly, causing me to gasp in pain. He takes a step forward, so we are standing toe to toe and sneers down at me.

"I wouldn't do that again, Elena, not if you know what is good for you." He threatens me coldly before a smirk crosses his face. "Or your boyfriend for that matter, he's already a little tied up at the moment, he is in a bit of a blooded mess actually, and the last thing he needs right now is you causing more _trouble_ for him."

"You fucking bastard!" I lift my foot back and kick him in the shin causing him to let of my wrist as he reflexes backwards in pain. "WHERE IS HE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM!" I kick him again in the groin and he bends over again, hissing out in anguish, before I kick him in the stomach. "TELL ME!"

I continue to kick him, in the stomach, the face, the groin, his arms and legs, and it's not until I feel hands wrap around my waist from behind me to pull me away when I realise that I'm crying.

"Elena! Calm down!" I recognise Alaric's voice and I see Miss Flemming look at me in shock before bending down to see if Kol is ok. "Elena!"

I stop thrashing out and I feel my feet land on the floor, Alaric's arms still wrapped around me tightly holding me in a bear grip.

"She's a fucking psycho!" Kol shouts at me from the floor, blood dripping from his lip from where I must have kicked him. "She just attacked me!"

Before I know it, I'm in Alaric's classroom with him, Miss Flemming and Kol. Kol is sat at down in a chair while Miss Flemming tends to his cuts but I can see her keep on sending me concerned glances but I just can't focus.

I know for sure now that Klaus has Damon.

"You calmed down now?" Alaric looks at me; I can see the shock in his eyes from what's just happened. I nod my head slowly, wiping at my eyes. Suddenly feeling very embarrassed. "What the hell was that Elena?"

Before I even answer Kol speaks. "She's crazy! She just attacked me out of nowhere!"

"He wasn't asking you!" Miss Flemming scolds him. "Go wait for me in the nurse's office." She orders him and I watch as he looks between us in disbelief. "_Now_, Kol!"

He grunts before doing so, but not before sending me one last glare before he does so.

"Elena," Alaric's voice is calmer now. "What you did out there…"

"You can talk to us." Miss Flemming walks towards me and I gulp slightly.

"It's nothing," I shake my head trying to fight back the tears.

"Elena, you just attacked another student in the hallway! That was _not_ nothing!"

"I just _hate _him so much! I hate that whole family! They're monsters!"

"Is this about Damon?" Alaric asks suspiciously.

I freeze because how am I supposed to answer that? As much as I want to tell them the truth, to tell someone what a sick family the Mikaelson's really are, how can I do that without involving the cops and getting Damon into trouble?

We need to give ourselves time to find him first. He has to be somewhere and as much as I don't want to, I need to trust Tyler and Trevor with this. They knew Klaus; they must know how he works.

"No." I shake my head and I watch as a look of disappointment across his face. "Look, I'm sorry. He pissed me off and I just lost it…"

"Elena come on, I know you. I know you wouldn't just _lose_ it over nothing."

"Well I did." I reply stubbornly.

"Elena, please, we can help you." Miss Flemming offers concerned.

"Why do you even care?" I snap at her in annoyance. "Shouldn't it be the principle who should be talking to me about this anyway?"

"We don't want you to get into trouble!" Alaric cuts in "This is your senior year, Elena! College is just a few months away."

"I'm well aware of that."

"What is wrong with you?" Alaric looks at me with concern. "Are you sure this isn't about Damon?"

"Why is everyone always so quick to blame Damon?" I snap.

"That's not what I'm doing." Alaric defends himself immediately. "You know I always defend him. But is it really a coincidence that Klaus Mikaelson comes back to town and then a few days later you're attacking his brother in the hallway? I don't think so, Elena."

I stay silent and look away.

"Whatever is going on, you should talk to someone." Miss Flemming speaks up again for the first time since I shut her down. "It doesn't have to be to us."

"But if there is something happening between Damon and Klaus then you need to tell _someone_, you need to go and speak to Liz."

"No!" I immediately reply "I can't do that! Damon's on probation!"

"So there _is_ something."

Damn it.

"No!" I reply stubbornly but I know that it's too late.

"Elena!" Alaric places his hands on my arms. "You need to tell me."

I shake my head and bite on my bottom lip. "I can't." I can feel my eyes watering again.

I watch as Alaric takes a step back and turns to face Miss Flemming. "Maybe you should go and check on Kol? He's waiting."

"What? No." she looks angry to be getting pushed out but I really don't understand what she's doing here anyway, and apparently neither does Alaric.

"Look, Elena and I are pretty much family, I would just like to speak to her alone as her uncle rather than her teacher." He tells her seriously and I watch confused as her shoulders sag before nodding her head.

"Ok." She goes to leave before looking back at me "If you need anything, Elena, you know where to find me." She tells me seriously and I look at Alaric with a frown after she leaves.

"What's her deal?"

Alaric shrugs "She's just passionate about her students I guess." He replies and I nod and watch as he checks to make sure that she's gone and goes to close the door. "Ok, now why don't you talk to me as Ric? Let's pretend we are out of school, therefore, I'm not on duty so anything you now say to me I don't have to report to the principle or _anyone_ else." He tells me seriously.

I watch him for a second and I can tell that he is being sincere and I don't know what the hell comes over me but a sob just escapes my lips and I burst into tears.

Alaric quickly strides towards me and wraps his arms around me pulling me in for a hug.

"Elena, tell me, please." He runs his hand over my hair soothingly, kind of like how my Dad used to when I was a kid and I had fell off my bike or somehow managed to injure myself.

"I can't." I weep and shake my head against his chest.

"Elena."

"Please, Ric." I practically beg him, pulling back slightly as tears roll freely down my cheeks. "Not yet."

He seems unsure by my answer but I watch as he lets out a defeated sigh and nods his head slowly. "Ok, but you're going to have to tell me sooner or later."

"I will, I promise. I just need some time." I let out a shaky breath and compose myself. "Can I go?"

"I think you should go home," Ric tells me seriously. "I don't think it's wise for you to stay here."

I nod my head in agreement, I only came in to see if Damon would show up and since I now know that Klaus definitely has him, the last thing I want to be doing is sitting in classrooms all day pretending that my boyfriend hasn't been kidnapped by a psychopath.

I leave Alaric's classroom and leave the building and walk through the carpark towards my car but come to a halt when I see Kol leaning against it, his arms folded across his chest and a pissed off expression on his cut and bruised face

"I'll scream." I warn him as he leans forward and walks towards me.

"Oh I'm sure you would," he glares at me. "You know, you really fucked up my plans, Elena." He tells me with a disappointed tone to his voice. "I was planning on kidnapping you, taking you from behind so you wouldn't know it was me, but it seems that you're making everything hard on me. I did not appreciate what you did back in there, not only did you embarrass me, but you actually kind of hurt me. I thought we were friends." He mock pouts at me and I glare fiercely back at him. "So I'm going to make this a little easier on you to save me another crazy beating, because let's be honest, you're clearly a nutcase."

I stay silent and he takes another step closer.

"You're going to come with me, with no arguments or protests."

"And why the hell would I do that?"

"Why, because I'm taking you to your lover boy, that's why." He smirks at me and my heart stops. "That is what you want, isn't it?"

"What's the catch?"

He shrugs. "There is no catch…I mean, I would like your phone of course, and the knowledge that you won't try and contact anyone or start anything."

"Fine." I answer while pulling my phone out of my pocket and handing it to him.

I don't care if I'm walking right into a trap. I _need_ to see Damon.

The car ride is long and awkward, and I realise that wherever Klaus has Damon, it isn't in Mystic Falls. I sit silently and anxiously beside Kol as he drives without saying a word, just briefly glancing at me from the corner of his eye every now and then, a small smile lingering on his lips that make me want to punch him in the face.

He pulls up outside what looks like an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere about an hour outside of Mystic Falls and jumps out, quickly running to my side of the door and pulling me out, his hand gripping onto my arm tightly.

"Get off me!" I hiss at him and try to pull out of his grasp but he doesn't let me.

"No arguments, remember." He jeers into my ear as he pulls me along. He pulls out a key and unlocks a door and practically throws me inside.

I stumble on my feet for a moment before I collect my bearings and that's when I see it.

Damon tied to a chair, his head down looking like he is asleep or unconscious, his white shirt ripped and stained with blood, looking more red than it does white.

Oh my god.

I must have started running because before I know it I'm on my knees in front of him, my hands on his blooded face, tears running down my cheeks as I try to wake him up.

"Damon! Damon! Wake up baby, _please_." I pat his cheek lightly and take in his appearance, a sob escaping my lips as I notice all the cuts and bruises, all of the blood, fresh and dried.

There is so much blood.

"What have they done to you?" I whisper in distress, a sickly feeling in my stomach and I feel like I'm about to vomit.

Suddenly a pain hits the back of my head and everything goes black.

* * *

It takes me a little while to get my vision back when I wake up next, I know that Klaus has knocked me out again and I start to worry about how many more times he can do it before he knocks me out for good.

This isn't healthy. This isn't going to end well for me, I can feel it.

My entire body feels light, like it's not really mine, the pain is too much that I think I've just shut down.

My eyes flicker open and I'm greeted with Kol staring down at me, a wide grin on his face despite the questionable cuts and bruises on his face. "Afternoon, Damon." He slaps my cheek slightly and I grimace in pain from the cut he catches. "Glad you finally decided to join us again."

I don't say anything and look down at my knees, my head heavy.

"You have a visitor." He moves to the side and my head snaps up and my eyes widen when I look across the warehouse.

_No._

It's Elena, tied to a pipe on the wall with a gag in her mouth, her eyes wide and red as they stare across the room at me.

"Elena." I break my gaze from her and turn to Kol. "You bastard!" I thrash out at him, but it's to no use, the chair moves but I'm still stuck to him and Kol chuckles and moves back away from me. "Let her go! Let her go now!"

"Now where is the fun in that?" Kol chuckles.

"Elena," my voice is croaky as I turn my head back to my girlfriend who looks terrified and I _hate_ myself for putting her in this position.

This is all my fault.

"Elena baby, I'm so sorry, but it's going to be ok, alright?" she nods her head and I can see the dried tears on her cheeks, she nods again at me but I can tell that she's scared. "Everything is going to be ok; you'll get out of here soon."

"Oh I wouldn't bet on that," Klaus reappears through the doors and strolls towards me. "You see, no one is going anywhere until I get a confession out of you, Salvatore." He pauses in front of me.

"This has nothing to do with her, Klaus. You can do whatever the hell you want to me, but you leave her out of this!"

"What? Like you did with Katherine? When you killed her?" he hisses at me furiously and I glance at Elena to see a frown cross her face.

Klaus catches my gaze and leans back with a look of realization on his face. "Ah," he smirks down at me. "She doesn't know, does she?" he chuckles and turns around and walks over to Elena, my hands clench together tightly as he gets closer, a sickly feeling hitting the pit of my stomach.

"Stay away from her!" I shout but he just ignores me.

I watch as he pulls the gag from Elena's mouth and she coughs and splutters for a moment before calling my name. "Damon!" she sounds desperate but before I can say anything Klaus starts speaking.

"Are you aware that it was your boyfriend who shot my darling Katherine?" he tilts his head to the side. "How does that make you feel? To know that you're dating a murderer."

"You're lying!" Elena hisses out at him coldly. "Damon didn't kill Katherine! We all know it was _you_!"

"Is that what he told you?" Klaus looks amused and turns his head to face me. "Tut Tut Salvatore, did your Mommy never tell you that lying is naughty? Then again, she was probably too busy…_hanging_ out."

I don't know if it's Elena looking distressed and in pain tied to that pipe or the mention of my mother, but adrenaline takes over my body and I charge forward, my feet breaking out of the ropes and head towards Klaus. I crash into his body with a thud but there is nothing else I can do with my hands still tied.

"Damon!" I hear Elena scream my name as Klaus gains the upper hand and starts pounding into me with his fist.

I groan loudly in pain and I can feel fresh bloody appearing but before long he's stopped and I'm left lying pathetically on the floor, blood dripping from my face.

I can hear Elena crying, her whimpers echoing across the room and when I turn my head to face her, her big brown eyes are on my mine, filled with worry, panic and fear.

"Oh that was a big mistake, Damon." Klaus glares down at me before turning to face Kol. "Go and get some more rope, make sure you tie his feet properly this time!" he orders his brother before looking back down at me and I watch with wide eyes as he pulls his gun out from his back pocket and points it at Elena.

"No! NO!" I scramble around on the floor with panic. "Don't you fucking dare, Klaus!"

"It's confession time." I watch as he loads the gun, his eyes on Elena who stops crying in shock, her eyes wide as the gun stares down at her.

"Klaus please, I'll do anything! PLEASE!" I realize that I'm crying now but I don't care.

He can't hurt Elena.

"CONFESS!" he roars, his eyes never leaving Elena as he holds the gun still in front of her.

"I didn't kill her! You have to believe me! It wasn't me!" I plead with him desperately. "I SWEAR!"

"Wrong answer."

My heart stops as I watch in slow motion as Klaus moves his finger on the gun and pulls the trigger.

"NO!"

Elena screams loudly in pain and I open my eyes which I had previously clenched shut at the sound of a gunshot and watch in shock as blood pours down her leg.

Klaus shot her in the leg.

"Oh my god! Elena, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" I plead with her and watch as she shakes her head at me, sobs escaping her lips to match my own, tears streaming down her face just like the blood is in her right leg. "Klaus, _please_." I choke out. "I'm _begging_ you!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Klaus swings around to face me. "I'm going to make you watch as I make her suffer the same way you did to Katherine. I'm going to keep on shooting her until she's either dead or I get a confession out of you!"

"_PLEASE_!"

"_Damon_," Elena chokes out between sobs.

"Confess Salvatore!" He turns back to face Elena and I watch as another cry escapes her lips as he pulls the cock of the gun back, the clicking sound practically hitting my heart. "Or your precious Elena is going to have a bullet in her other leg too, and then one in each of her arms, and then I'm going to shoot one into her _chest_."

I watch as he moves his finger to pull the trigger and my heart stops.

"NO! NO! OK! OK! STOP! STOP IT! I DID IT!" I scream loudly and watch as Klaus freezes, Elena's eyes dart towards me in shock.

"Damon _no_." her voice sounds desperate as she attempts to speak through her cries but all I can focus on is the blood streaming down her right leg. "Don't do this."

"I did it," I pant out breathlessly and watch as Klaus slowly turns around to face me, his eyes wide and his face serious. I glance back at Elena who is shaking her head frantically, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "It was _me_."

I gulp slightly and turn back to face Klaus who is still looking down at me with wide eyes, he bends down to face me, his face milometers from mine.

"Say it." he hisses out.

"I killed Katherine."

* * *

**Yikes! Damon giving a false confession to save Elena! Who called that one?**

**Thanks for all your awesome reviews for the last chapter, they really helped me to push to finish this chapter today, like I said before I've been crazy busy and really wanted to update sooner but time was against me, but your reviews really did help me get it done today instead of towards the end of last week so THANK YOU!**

**You're all awesome and your feedback and thoughts are the best! Thanks for reading and I hope this chapter wasn't too much of a let down.**

**Until next time :) **


	34. Chapter 34

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**I'm pretty sure this is my longest chapter yet, hope you like it! **

* * *

"Damon stop it!" I shake my head in shock, tears running down my cheek as my boyfriend confesses a murder that he did not commit. "He's lying!" I shout, ignoring the pain that is throbbing in my right leg as the sticky liquid seeps through my jeans.

Klaus freezes and turns his head to face me, leaning back up to stand. "And why would he be lying?"

I glance back at Damon who is shaking his head frantically at me but I quickly turn away and swallow the lump in my throat. "To save me." I answer "He didn't kill Katherine."

"Elena stop!" Damon raises his voice. "Klaus, listen to me! I am _telling_ you, I killed Katherine! It was me! I shot her!"

Klaus looks between us both, a frown covered on his face. "One of you is lying."

Damon glances at me and I can see how desperate he looks from the corner of my eye but I ignore his gaze. He is not going to do this for me. "It's Damon."

Klaus chuckles and lets out a loud deep sigh. "Unfortunately for you darling, I don't believe you. You see, there was only Damon and myself there with Katherine that night, and I did not kill her."

I frown confused, because if Klaus is telling the truth then who the hell shot Katherine?

Then again, it's Klaus. He's psychotic and he is probably just trying to blame this on Damon to get away with it himself.

"So that leaves…_Damon_."

I jump with fright and watch as Klaus swings his foot around and connects it into Damon's stomach causing him to groan loudly and roll into a foetus position on the floor, he's panting and I can see that he's got no energy.

He's hurt, all over, and as much as my leg is killing me right now, I can only think about Damon.

All of that blood.

It's too much.

Klaus lifts Damon's head up by his hair before punching him straight back down into the ground, he lifts back his foot and kicks him again in the stomach.

"Klaus please stop!" I beg, more tears falling from my eyes. "Please don't hurt him!"

"Oh please don't tell me I'm missing more of the fun!" I hear Kol's voice but I don't even bother to look away.

"You'll never get away with this you know!" I spit out, my panicked eyes watching Damon as he lies breathlessly on the floor, looking weaker and weaker and I cringe with fear as I watch him cough up blood. "Both of you!"

Klaus chuckles and looks over at Kol. "You're right, she's a feisty one! I can see now how she gave you that face!"

"That was..._you_?" Damon glances up at me from the floor and despite everything that is going on; I swear I see a hint of a smile on his face.

"She caught me off guard!" Kol defends himself. "So…what did I miss?" I notice the rope is wrapped in his hands as he gets closer.

"I got a confession." Klaus tells him and I watch as Kol comes to a standstill.

"You did?" he looks surprised.

"It seems you were right, Elena here was the one who finally made him talk! I knew I'd get a confession if I pushed hard enough."

I scowl at his words and I watch as Kol glances at me, noticing my blooded leg for the first time and a grin crosses his face as he walks towards me. "You shot her?" he sounds amused and I didn't think it was possible to hate him anymore than I did already but I do. "Looks painful," he smirks at me and bends down, and I scream in pain as he presses his finger against my open wound.

"Get your hands off her!" Damon roars as I clench my eyes shut. "KOL!"

Kol chuckles and let's go and I let out a shaky breath. "Relax Salvatore, geez."

"Enough of this." Klaus interrupts in annoyance. "We need to get a move on and finish this now that I've got what I wanted. You stay here and watch these two while I go back to Mystic Falls and pack a bag."

"What are you planning on doing?" I ask panicked, I look at Damon who actually looks alarmed as Klaus shoves his gun back in his pocket. "Klaus!"

"Nothing for you to worry about love." He smirks at me before turning his attention to Damon. "Your boyfriend however…" he sneers down at him. "I'd be worried."

"No!" I start to panic but Damon, although he looks fearful, he seems too tired, almost like he has given up. "Klaus please! He didn't kill Katherine!" my protests are in vain however because Klaus just rolls his eyes and walks away, leaving the warehouse.

I glance at Damon who is looking directly at me. "I'm sorry," he tells me sincerely and I nod my head.

"I know." I gulp. "But it's not too late, you said everything was going to be ok and I believe you. Tyler and Trevor are looking for you! I'm sure they'll find us soon."

I continue to ignore the searing pain in my leg.

"Oh I wouldn't count on those two imbeciles." Kol interrupts with a sneer and I watch as he kneels down next to Damon who is now sitting in an upright position, his still freed feet lying in front of him. "I am curious about one thing though, Damon."

I watch as Damon turns his head and looks at Kol with the fiercest of glares on his face. "Oh yeah? Enlighten us, why don't you." He spits out coldly, I can hear the frail in his voice though and it's starting to worry me more and more.

I can't stop looking at all of the blood.

So much blood.

"This confession you supposedly made to my brother," he muses aloud. "I find it interesting…I mean…we all know that it wasn't actually you, don't we?" he chuckles with a grin and my eyes widen.

"You _know_ it was Klaus and you're still letting him do this! What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shout at him furiously. "This is _wrong_! No matter what has gone on in the past, no matter how much you hate Damon! He does not deserve this, Kol! Please, I am begging you! Let us go!"

"And why the hell would I do that?" Kol actually looks genuinely amused by the idea. "I don't like you, Elena, and I hate your boyfriend even more, he deserves every single thing that he gets."

"It was you."

I snap my head in Damon's direction and I watch as he has a dazed look on his face.

Kol looks surprised for a moment but I watch as he regains his composure. "Sorry, what was that?"

Damon raises his head and looks at Kol, a dazed but shocked look on his face. "_You_ shot Katherine."

I freeze and my heart starts to pound as a smile crosses Kol's face and I gulp as he starts to slowly clap his hands and it sounds so _sinister_.

"_Finally_!" he chuckles and I watch him in absolute horror.

_What_? It was Kol all along? What?

"I have to say, Damon, I was a little disappointed you didn't figure this out sooner! You really think my brother had the guts to kill her? He loved her, stupidly! God knows what her attraction was to both of you; she was a manipulative bitch with no redeeming qualities!"

"She didn't deserve to die!" Damon argues, his voice rises causing him to cough some more and I want to so badly go over and comfort him but I am stuck to this god damn pipe.

I move my hands unintentionally and almost gasp out loud when one of my hands falls loose from the rope.

"Oh please! She deserved everything she got! She didn't care about you! She didn't care about anyone but herself and someone had to stop her ruining my brother's life before he made an even bigger mistake by running away with her!"

"You're sick!" I hiss at him horrified.

"Maybe," he shrugs casually. "But I'm not going to lie," he turns to face Damon. "It gave me great satisfaction watching Katherine _beg_ for her life! I've never seen her look so weak and vulnerable before, it was quite pathetic actually! Oh her face when I pulled that trigger, she-"

The noise of a door slamming causes him to freeze and my head snaps to the side to see Klaus standing across the warehouse.

A frown on his face.

"Oh please, _brother_, don't stop on my account."

I glance at Damon who sits up straighter and more alert and Kol jumps back up to his feet, his body swinging around to face his brother. "Klaus…"

"I got half way down the road when I realised that I forgot my keys for the house." Klaus takes slow but long strides towards us and I gulp slightly in fear at the look on his face and I swear that Kol does the same.

He should.

"That wasn't what it sounded like! I was just goading him, I swear!"

"Goading him?"

"He's lying! He killed her! He's just been gloating about it!" I jump in impatiently.

"BE QUIET!" Klaus growls at me and I jump slightly in shock at the volume of his voice. "Now, why don't you continue your little story, baby brother?"

Kol's eyes are wide as Klaus gets closer and closer to him. "I-I…" he stutters unsure of what to say.

"TELL ME!"

Kol shakes his head and it all happens so fast, one minute Klaus is standing a few feet away, the next the two of them stumble across the warehouse, fists flying everywhere, shouts of pain and anger.

I don't think twice on my next move, Kol and Klaus, they can do whatever the hell they want to each other, I just need to get Damon out of here.

I quickly use my free and to loosen my other and then reach them out to undo the rope of my feet.

"Elena," Damon's eyes widen in surprised but I immediately hush him as I break free, my leg throbs in pain as I shuffle across the floor and quickly untie Damon, a little worried when his body slumps against mine now that he doesn't have the support of the chair to hold him up.

Jesus Christ, there really is blood everywhere.

"We need to get out of here, _now_." I whisper and I glance back at Klaus and Kol who are too occupied punching seven shades out of each other across the warehouse to notice what is going on. "Can you stand up?" I ask concerned and Damon nods his head and pulls himself quietly to his feet.

He leans down and helps pick me up and I bite down on my lip hard to stop me screaming in pain as I accidently put weight on my right leg.

"Hold onto me," Damon whispers into my ear and despite how weak he seems, he holds me up against him and we quickly but quietly make our way towards the exit.

I glance over my shoulder as reach the door to see Klaus on top of Kol, his fist pounding into him and I gulp slightly before quickly limping outside.

"Klaus's car!" I point in that direction and Damon quickly leads me towards it, he lets go of it and pants against it the second we reach it, I give him a quick concerned glance before trying to open the door but cringing when it's looked.

I look back at Damon who is leaning against the car, his head down as he struggles to hold himself up. I raise my elbow and wham it against the car window, once, twice, before it eventually caves in and smashes and I count my lucky stars that an alarm doesn't go off. I immediately unlock the door and go to get in but Damon holds his arm out to stop me.

"You can't drive with that leg!"

"And you can't drive in the state you are in right now!" I argue back but he's right, I can barely move my leg never mind drive a car.

"I can hotwire a car, therefore I win! Now get in!" he orders me firmly, leaving no room for an argument and I quickly hobble around the front of the car and climb into the passenger seat.

"Ah," I let out a shaky breath, trying to hold in my sobs as I watch Damon attempt to start the car with the wires. "My leg, it hurts so much."

"Ssh, it's going to be ok, baby, I swear." He tells me reassuringly and I send a worried glance towards the door, praying that they haven't noticed us gone yet. "Come on, come on!" he mutters under his breath.

"Damon!" I watch as the door springs open and Klaus appears, he looks around frantically before eventually spotting us and I watch in fear as he breaks into a sprint. "Damon!"

"Got it!" Damon shouts in victory and I scream as just as the engine roars into life, Klaus appears at the window and his arms reach inside wrapping around Damon's neck.

Damon however presses his foot against the pedal and we speed away, and I hear Klaus hiss loudly in pain for a second as he stumbles against the moving car before letting go.

I let out a relieved breath and turn my head to look out of the back window to see Klaus stumbling onto the floor.

"Oh my god," I pant as everything that has happened starts to finally catch up with me. "Oh my god! That…oh my god!" my eyes start burning and I can feel the tears slide down my cheeks.

"Ssh, calm down, you're safe now!" Damon reaches his hand out and takes mine in his but I can't breathe. "Elena, baby, deep breaths." He glances to the side to look at me in fear and I attempt to calm my breathing. "Elena."

He keeps driving for a few minutes, breaking every speed limit under the sun but we need to get out of here. "Elena." He says my name again and squeezes my hand. "You're safe."

"You almost died!" I break out in between sobs, my entire body shaking.

Damon slows the car down and we soon roll to a stop and he quickly leans across his seat towards me, his hands pressed on either side of my face. "Look at me! We're ok. Now please baby, I am _begging_ you, calm down so I can get you to a hospital. You are bleeding pretty badly and I need to get you there right now."

I finally calm down and glance at my leg, my right one completely soaked through with blood and for a moment there I forgot about the pain.

I nod my head and Damon leans forward and kisses me hard on the mouth, I return it, almost urgently because I can't believe how close I was to losing him, my hand clutches onto his that is still resting on my cheek and I continue to kiss him desperately.

"It's ok, we're ok." I repeat his words as he eventually pulls away and I watch as he leans back into his own chair, his body slumps slightly and I'm reminded of all of his injuries.

"Are _you_ ok?" I ask concerned and I watch as Damon nods his head.

"I'm fine." He doesn't sound convinced but I don't say anything else as Damon starts to drive again.

We sit in silence for what seems like hours as Damon continues to drive, every now and then I turn my head to face him and I notice that each time I do he looks like he is trying to hold himself up more and more and his face is getting paler and paler.

"Damon," I reach out and touch his thigh. "Maybe we should stop."

"And do what?" he snaps at me. "Let Klaus catch up with us?! No, we need to get you to a hospital and that won't happen if we make another stop and he finds us!"

"Damon you look like you're about to pass out!"

"I'm fine!" He argues back, his voice tired but firm. "I _need_ to get you to a hospital! I _need_ to make sure your _safe_!"

A moment of realisation takes over me.

He feels guilty.

"This isn't your fault, you know." I tell him seriously, still ignoring the searing pain that is in my leg, cautiously watching as more blood oozes out of it.

Damon stays silent as he continues to drive and I let out a sigh of relief as we eventually join other cars on the road.

We are getting closer.

"Damon." I say his name again but he ignores me and keeps driving.

I watch as he coughs loudly and some blood falls out of his mouth dripping down his chin, just like it did back at the warehouse. He tries to hide it, quickly wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand while turning his head away from me but it's too late.

This is not good.

I start to get another sickly feeling in my stomach and look over at him in fear. I can see he is trying his hardest to hide it, but I can tell that he's in pain, and a lot of it.

"Baby please, there's cars around! Please let's just stop and get help."

He grips onto the steering wheel tighter and at first I think it's because he's trying to control his anger but when I turn my head properly to face him I notice that his entire body is shaking.

"Damon!" I start to panic and I watch in horror as his eyes roll into the back of his head. I quickly lean over and take hold of the wheel but Damon's feet are still in the gas and we keep moving, swerving through traffic, cars around us beeping loudly.

I manage to somehow lift his foot off the gas, but when I do I take my eyes off the road and I look back up at the sound of screeching tires and a loud horn just in time to see us go riding towards a large truck, I quickly swing the wheel around and we miss it by barely a milometer causing us to roll off of the road and into the side barrier, the car crashes into it with a thud and my body leaps forward and I hit my head off the sideboard.

I lean back against my chair with a gasp and turn to see Damon who is slumped against the steering wheel unconscious.

"Damon?"

He doesn't answer.

And I start to cry.

* * *

My eyes flutter open and I look up to see a dirty white ceiling, the sound of beeping echo's around my ears and it only makes this headache that I seem to have a bad case of, worse.

"Oh thank god!"

I sit up slightly to see Jenna standing by the side of my bed with Jeremy stood next to her, both of them with concerned looks on their faces.

"What…where am I?" I ask confused, my eyes squinted together because of the bright lighting of the room.

"You're in hospital sweetie," Jenna pushes some hair out of my face comfortingly. "You were in a car accident."

"Yeah and the rest," Jeremy mutters beside her and suddenly everything comes crashing back towards me.

"Oh my god. Damon. Where's Damon?" I start to panic but Jenna immediately holds her hands onto my arms as I attempt to climb out of bed.

"Elena. Elena! Calm down sweetheart," she tells me soothingly and I can't help but follow her orders.

"Where is he? Is he ok?" I watch fretful as she glances at Jeremy who shrugs and looks away. "Jenna?"

"Honestly? We don't know." She confesses. "Last we heard they had to take him into the operating theater, something about lots of internal bleeding."

My stomach drops and I clench my jaw tightly. "He's going to be ok though, right?"

"Yes of course," Jenna tells me reassuringly. "He's in the right place." I nod my head slowly and glance down at my leg which is all bandaged up. "Elena…" she speaks up again. "We know that this was more than just a car accident."

I cringe slightly and look down.

"Care to explain why you had a bullet in your leg?" Jeremy speaks up.

"I need to speak to Damon."

"Yeah and we told you he's not available! Tell me, Elena!" Jeremy orders me angrily, but I can see the fear in his eyes and I suddenly feel so bad for putting him through this. It must be bringing back so many horrible memories, for both of them.

"Jeremy, calm down." Jenna speaks softly at him and I turn my head away to hide the tears that are stinging in my eyes. "Elena," she takes my hand in mine. "Look at me."

I slowly turn my head and watch as she leans forward with a concerned look on her face. "You know you can tell us anything, ok?"

I nod my head slowly and swallow the lump in my throat. "I know Jenna, but I…I can't say anything until I speak to Damon." I tell her seriously and she lets out a sigh before slowly nodding her head.

"Ok." I can tell that she is a little disappointed "I'm going to go and get your doctor to let her know that you're awake." She excuses herself from the room and I watch her go guiltily.

"This is about Klaus, isn't it?" Jeremy questions once Jenna has left the room. I stay silent for a second before slowly nodding my head. "Damn it, Elena. What were you thinking getting involved in that shit?"

"It's not like I had a choice!"

"I'm going to kill Damon for this!" he hisses furiously.

"No! No, don't blame him, this isn't his fault." I plead with my brother desperately. "Klaus took him, ok? He didn't ask for this."

"He got you involved! He should have kept you safe!"

"He was tied up in some abandoned warehouse looking half dead with blood _all over_ him after being tortured to an inch of his life! I think he was a little preoccupied!" I hiss in defense of my boyfriend. "He saved my life! If it wasn't for him, Klaus would have shot me."

I watch as Jeremy runs his hand over his head and lets out a frustrated breath. "What the hell happened, Elena? You can tell me."

"I told you, I need to speak to Damon."

I just want to see him, to make sure that he's ok and then we can figure out where to go next from here. I'm not stupid, I know that we can't brush this under the carpet and pretend that everything is ok.

Klaus is still out there, so is Kol and they both need to pay for what they have done.

A knock on the door interrupts us and I look up to see a nervous looking Stefan slip inside, a small smile on his lips.

"Hey, I saw Jenna, she said you were awake." He smiles softly at me as he approaches my bed. "I'm so glad you're ok."

I force a smile but there is only one question on my lips and I can't not ask it.

"How's Damon?"

"He's going to be ok, I think."

"You think?" I ask anxiously.

"What the hell happened, Elena?" Stefan asks me seriously, ignoring my question. I can hear the fear and worry in his voice as he concerns. "The doctors said he has all kinds of injuries, from concussion to starvation to knife wounds? They are saying that it looks like he's been... _tortured_."

I squeeze my eyes shut at the thought, because that is what happened, he was tortured for days, tied up in a cold old warehouse with no way of fighting back.

All because he loved a girl who didn't love him back.

How is that fair?

"Did Klaus do this? Was he the one who _shot_ you?" Stefan asks after a few moments of silence when I failed to answer his original question.

I slowly nod my head, tears stinging my eyes and I notice Stefan send a concerned glance towards my brother.

"Please," I hold back a sob. "Please just let me see Damon."

"He's still in the theater, Elena." Stefan tells me gently.

"Don't shut us out." Jeremy takes a hold of my hand at the other side of the bed. "Whatever happened, you can talk to us about it. We love you, Elena."

I just _need_ to see Damon.

* * *

_"CONFESS!" he roars, his eyes never leaving Elena as he holds the gun still in front of her._

_"I didn't kill her! You have to believe me! It wasn't me!" I plead with him desperately. "I SWEAR!"_

_"Wrong answer."_

_My heart stops as I watch in slow motion as Klaus moves his finger on the gun and pulls the trigger._

_"NO!"_

_Elena screams loudly in pain and I open my eyes which I had previously clenched shut at the sound of a gunshot and watch in shock as blood pours down her leg._

I wake up with a jump from the memory that was overtaking me. My breathing is heavy and my entire body is sweating as I pant in an unfamiliar setting.

It takes me a few seconds to gather my bearings when I realize that I'm in hospital.

"Damon?" An unfamiliar voice draws my attention and I turn my head to see a woman maybe in her late 20s smiling softly at me. "Hi, I'm Doctor Meredith Fell. Don't worry, you're safe, you're in hospital."

I try to speak but my throat is hard and thick and that's when I realize I have an oxygen mask over my mouth and tubes attached all over my hands.

I go to pull it off but she gently places her hand on top of mine to stop me.

"That's to help you, ok? You have badly fractured your ribs and this is to help you breathe. You've been in theater for three hours and unconscious for twelve, we felt it was best to sedate you, you were not only exhausted but you were suffering from severe hydration as well as other injuries. You have mass bruising covering a lot of your body, as well as a gash along your collarbone which we have covered up. You also suffered from concussion and we have stitched up the gash in the back of your head. Most of all, there was a lot of internal bleeding, which is why we had to operate. You're a lucky man, Damon, you could have died."

I watch as she turns her head to address someone else in the room and that's when I see Giuseppe stood by the window, his arms folded against him as he has a stern serious look on his face.

"Make sure he keeps his oxygen mask on, he's still having trouble breathing on his own, and if he does insist on taking it off then make sure it's only for short periods of time. I'm going to go and speak to some nurses, I will back soon with some medication for him." She tells him and sends me another small smile before leaving the room.

We fall into an awkward silence, the only sound coming from the loud beeping machines and my heavy breathing.

I remove the mask from my lips, and watch as Giuseppe changes his stance as I do so, almost like he is ready to scold me.

"Where's Elena? Is she ok?" I ask concerned and watch as Giuseppe lets out a sigh and steps forward.

"She's fine." He replies stiffly and I nod my head. "Now you heard what the doctor said, put that back on." He orders me and I follow it before reluctantly doing so, despite hating how it makes me feel.

My entire body aches as I lean back against the bed, all of the memories of the last few days hitting me full force.

Klaus torturing me, insisting that it was me who killed Katherine.

Elena being captured and then being shot.

Kol's confession.

"The cops want to talk to you." Giuseppe breaks the awkward silence in this tense room. "Apparently, the car you were driving belongs to Klaus Mikaelson…who just so happens to be missing, along with his brother with Kol. Do you have any idea what that may be about?"

I stay silent.

"_Damon_?" he walks towards me so he is stood at the side of my bed. "This is serious. What the hell happened? We know that guns were involved; your girlfriend has a bullet wound in her leg. You can't get out of this again, not this time."

I turn my head and glare at him, pulling the oxygen mask back off my face. "Why do you have to assume that I'm the one to blame here?"

"Don't put words into my mouth, son." He scolds me coldly. "I just want to know what the hell happened? I get a phone call to say you were involved in a car accident, and then when I arrive I am then informed that your injuries are…_suspicious_, and that there is more to it? Then your girlfriend, who just so happened to be in the car with you, which belongs to Klaus, has a gunshot wound? You need to start talking, Damon, tell me what happened so I can think of a way to fix this and get us out of this mess you insist on continuing to create for this family."

"Fine." I huff, pulling the entire oxygen mask off my face and throwing it across the room. "You want to know what happened? Klaus kidnapped me and tortured me for _days_, thanks for noticing that I was missing by the way!" I spit out at him icily. "Kol then took Elena, because of _me_ and then Klaus shot her in the leg, because of _me_! We managed to escape and I don't really remember anything after driving along the highway which I'm guessing is when I managed to crash? So I'm sorry if this is all such an inconvenience to you, so why don't you do us both a favor and get out and leave me alone?!" I'm shouting now, despite the croak in my voice and the pain in the chest.

"Oh I'm not going anywhere…we need to sort this out and we need to do it before the sheriff comes calling round!"

"GET OUT! NOW! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

I start coughing, choking on my own words as I start to find it very hard to breathe.

"Hey, hey!" The door swings open and Dr Fell hurries in with wide eyes, "What is going on?" she quickly rushes over towards me and tends to me straight away, finding the oxygen mask and pushing it back against my face which helps me with my breathing. "Damon calm down." She orders me as I struggle to rest. "Damon, come on, breathe with me. One, two, three, deep breaths, come on."

Eventually I manage to calm myself down and my breathing steadies, the strong aching in my ribs relaxing slightly despite the pain still hurting across my body. I let out a sigh and lean my head back, exhausted, my eyes half closed as I hear Dr Fell politely ask Giuseppe to leave, which I'm guessing he does because when I hear the door slam shut I open my eyes back up to see Dr Fell pressing some buttons on the machine beside me.

"You can't work yourself up like this again, Damon." She tells me seriously. "You're still recovering from a major operation and your entire body is in stress right now, your body is still recuperating, any kind of pressure or strain will not help you."

I go to take my mask off again to speak but she stops me.

"Not yet," she tells me soothingly and I grunt in annoyance.

She smiles despite herself and lets out a loud sigh. "I have a teenage girl upstairs who has been pestering and nagging my staff none stop for the last twelve hours about you," my heart starts pounding hard against my chest. "Would it help if I arranged for her to be brought down here?"

I freeze.

Would it help?

Would I even be able to look her in the eye? She's up there because of me; she got _shot_ because of me.

I promised I would never hurt her, and that's exactly what I did, both emotionally and physically.

I think she notices my hesitation because she smiles sympathetically at me. "Look Damon, I don't know you, nor am I going to pretend to know you, but it's clear as day to anyone that Elena loves you, I mean just ask any of the nurses in her ward, they'll confirm it! Whatever happened, whatever brought you both here, don't let it hurt you anymore than it has done already." She glances back over her shoulder. "I probably shouldn't be saying this, but I'm a sucker for young love." I watch her curiously. "The police have been waiting to speak to you both, and now that you're awake, we have to inform them, which means that they will be back here very soon, so if you want to see Elena before all the questions start, then I suggest you do it now, because I know from experience, that in cases like these, these hospital rooms often turn into interrogation ones and you'll probably not get another moment of peace soon."

I stay silent, not that I could speak anyway, as she gives me a moment to process her words.

"So what do you say? She's been desperate to see you. Shall I organize a nurse to bring her down?"

I slowly nod my head and her smile widens before she excuses herself and leaves the room.

It's about 40 minutes later when there is a tap on my door it pushes open; I'm immediately greeted with the sight of Elena in a wheelchair being pushed inside by a nurse I recognize who came to check up on me half an hour ago.

"Damon." I see the tears in her eyes appear and I gulp slightly, my stomach aching with butterflies.

I immediately pull the oxygen mask off my face as the nurse pushes her as close as possible to my bed. "Look at you," I almost choke on my words. "Are you ok?"

The nurse excuses herself, but not before giving me a warning to put on my mask again in 30 minutes.

"Am I ok?" she looks at me in disbelief, reaching over and taking my hand in both of hers, bringing it up to her lips and kissing each knuckle and then each finger. "What about you? I was _so_ scared. I…I thought you were going to die." A small sob escapes her lips and she clutches onto my hand tightly. "I'm so happy to see you." She whimpers out between her soft quiet cries.

"Hey, hey, don't cry baby." I almost cringe with guilt. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything. I should never have got involved again with Klaus; this never would have happened if I just stayed away from him and Kol. I'm _so_ sorry that you got dragged into this and even sorrier that you got hurt, I hate myself so much for this Elena, and I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life making this up to you." I can feel tears falling down my cheeks but I don't even care. "I love you _so much_, and I will never forgive myself for what I've put you through. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you."

She shakes her head and peppers my hand with kisses. "No, this isn't your fault, Damon. Klaus he…this is his fault, his and Kol's. You can't blame yourself, I won't let you blame yourself." She tells me firmly. "Please, don't shut me out, don't punish yourself. It's over, we're both safe and the truth is finally out." She glances briefly over her shoulder towards the door. "Look, Damon, the cops have been trying to speak to me but I've managed to avoid it so far…we need to tell them the truth, and I mean _everything_."

I gulp slightly before nodding my head. "My Dad said Klaus and Kol are missing…?"

She nods her head "No one can find them, Tyler and Trevor snuck down to the warehouse he kept us at, he said they weren't there either. They want us to keep out the part about you being involved in taking Elijah; apparently they struck a deal with him this morning and he's not going to say anything so we'll leave that part out. I don't want you to get into trouble."

I frown, wondering how the hell Trevor and Tyler managed to get Elijah to keep quiet about what we did to him, wondering if it's really going to be this simple.

"You saved my life, Damon." She continues with a shaky voice. "You risked your own to save me, you confessed to something you didn't do, something that you knew could probably get you killed, and you did it to save me anyway."

"_No_," I shake my head, the guilt overtaking me again. "I should have done it sooner; if I had then you wouldn't have that cast on your leg right now."

"You shouldn't have done it at all!" she argues with me stubbornly. "This isn't your fault."

I turn my head away and clench my jaw because no matter what she says, I know that this is all down to me.

"Damon," I snap my head back around to face her when I notice that she's pulled herself up so she is leaning against my bed, her head millimeters from my own.

"Elena, sit down…your leg."

"It's fine." She smiles softly at me, placing her hand on my cheek, her big brown eyes staring down into my own. "Listen to me, Damon, I love you and I don't want you to blame yourself for this. We need to move past this…we need to _move on_."

"They are still out there, Elena."

"For now, once we tell the cops what happened to Katherine, they'll be out looking for them, looking for Kol and they'll be locked up where they belong." When I don't reply she leans down and kisses me slowly.

I sigh into her mouth, my hand clutching the back of her head, my fingers tangling into her dark thick hair as I pull her against me, deepening the kiss.

"I love you so much," I mumble against her lips before kissing her again.

"I know," she breathes against me once she pulls away, her forehead resting against my own. "I love you too."

A knock on the door interrupts us and then opens and I look over Elena's shoulder to see Sheriff Forbes slowly walk inside the room, two uniformed officers following behind her.

"Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert." I notice her glance at my girlfriend with a look of concern and hesitation before she continues. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we're going to have to ask you both some questions."

I glance at Elena who shifts back and sits back into her wheelchair nervously and I take a deep breath and turn to look at Liz who is standing patiently at the bottom of my bed.

"Would you prefer it if I start at the beginning?"

* * *

**I really don't feel like I'm on top of my game at the moment, which is a shame because these are such big chapters for this story but the last couple + this one, I just don't feel too pleased with it! I hope it's ok though and that you all liked it! That is what is important.**

**I also want to say a huge massive THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed so far, I have reached the 500 mark and that is amazing! Honestly, it really does help me write this story! Your feedback is what I wait for when I post it! There'd be no point in updating otherwise, so I really do hope your still enjoying this!**

**Thanks guys, and until next time! :) **


	35. Chapter 35

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**I just can't stay away!**

**(Sorry for the confusion, have to repost because for whatever reason it's not working)**

* * *

I ended up having to speak to Sherriff Forbes separately from Elena, one reason being that she is still under the age of eighteen so she needed to wait to speak to the cops with Jenna there as her legal guardian, but I think that we got our stories together and identical. With the both of us missing out parts that could get me into trouble as we both explained exactly what happened in the warehouse, but most importantly, Kol's confession.

Unfortunately Elena had to go back to her room to top up her pain medication for her leg and then to rest, meaning that I never got to see her since her visit to my room, leaving me alone for hours on end, thinking about everything that has happened in the past couple of days.

Overnight was the worst, I could barely sleep a wink because of all the tubes attached to me, never mind the aching pain that still attacked my body. Klaus really had done a number on me.

Worse than the pain though were the nightmares, nightmares of Kol killing Katherine swirled around my sleepy brain, but most of all, it was nightmares of Elena dying, either by Klaus or Kol, each time she was shot and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

Each time she died.

Each time I woke up sweating with tears streaming down my face.

Giuseppe comes to check up on me first thing with Stefan, both of them asking basic standard questions about how I'm feeling, almost like I'm a formality, but at least Stefan did look concerned.

Giuseppe was out of the door within 30 minutes, apparently he has to take an important business call that just cannot wait, despite his eldest son lying in a hospital bed after suffering life threatening injuries.

Oh well, I prefer it when he's not here anyway.

"So uh…" Stefan mumbles out awkwardly, breaking the silent tension that has overtook my room since they arrived. "Klaus really messed you up, huh?"

I smirk at the way he shifts nervously at the bottom of my bed. "He had an unfair advantage; I had my hands and legs tied to a chair. I would have kicked his ass otherwise."

He grins slightly and shakes his head. "Sure brother, you keep telling yourself that."

I chuckle, despite the pain it causes me and let out a loud sigh. "I bet you wish you could have taken a shot at me too huh?"

"Not gonna lie, the thought of holding you hostage and torturing you has crossed my mind once or twice over the last few months." He shrugs and I let out another laugh as we fall into another silence, this one a little less awkward. "Hey Damon?" he breaks it again and I look back up at him. "I am sorry…that this happened to you."

"I know."

"I just…I know things have been…_difficult_, between us lately, but well…you're still my big brother."

I nod my head at him and watch as he runs his hand through his hair. "Hey Stef?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asks confused.

"For what I said the other week on the way to the Gilbert Cabin, I should never have told you the way I did, you didn't deserve to hear it that way and I apologize."

I watch as he bites on his bottom lip and turns his head away. "A part of me is still wondering if you made it up to hurt me."

"I'd never do that; I'd never lie about Mom to hurt you. Look, I'm not trying to turn you against Dad, I promise that I'm not because he has always done right by you, but I just wanted you to know the truth. There's a reason we don't get along, Stefan, and despite what you once thought, it's not just because I was a rebellious teen trying to piss him off just because I had nothing else better to do."

"I know." He gulps slightly before turning back to face me, looking at me directly in the eye. "I'm not…" he trails off, almost like he is stuttering. "I can't remember like you can, Damon." He admits. "How about we just agree to disagree for now?"

I nod my head slowly and hold out my fist, watching as he rolls his eyes but bumps his own against it anyway. "I think I can manage to call a temporary truce?"

"Temporary huh? Why? You afraid I'm going to kick your ass?"

"Well, I do have an unfair advantage right now. I have to have nurses help me use the bathroom baby bro."

He lets out a loud laugh and shakes his head. "Nice."

I shrug amused and we share a chuckle between us and it's weird because we haven't had a moment like this in a _long_ time, even before Elena happened.

It doesn't last long though because my hospital door swings open and we are greeted by the sight of Rebekah storming into my room, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.

"Where are my brothers?!" she shouts at me, her voice loud but shaky.

"Hey, you can't just walk in here like this!" Stefan moves in front of her before she reaches my bed, and I swear if she didn't, she probably would have added to me list of injuries.

"Get out of my way, Stefan!" she orders him but my brother doesn't move so she resolves to look past him over his shoulder. "Tell me!"

"I don't know." I tell her honestly.

"You're lying!"

"What the hell do you think I've managed to do, Rebekah?" I ask her in disbelief. "Look at me! I'm a _mess_, _because_ of your brothers! Do you really think I've managed to do something to them in _this_ state? I can barely walk!"

She shakes her head at me, fresh tears falling from her eyes. "I don't know what the hell you've done, Damon, or how, but you don't fool me! And what you told the police? About it being _Kol_ who killed Katherine?! I know you're lying! It's Kol, he wouldn't do that! He _couldn't_ do that!"

"It's the truth!" I argue immediately.

"No. You know Damon…I actually believed you when you told me it was Klaus who killed Katherine, because I know my brother and I know that if pushed, he could do something like that, but Kol? No…no way in hell, now I know you're lying!"

"I really don't care if you don't believe me, Rebekah, but it's the truth! Ask yourself this, where is Klaus right now? Because I'm guessing he's somewhere beating Kol's ass, and you know what, for once I'm actually rooting for him! I hope he gives Kol exactly what he deserves then I hope he rots inside a cold rotten jail cell for it!"

"You bastard!" she screams at me and goes to charge past Stefan but he holds her back.

"That's enough!" he warns her. "If you don't leave now I'm going to shout for security."

Rebekah however surprises us both and lets out a loud sob before leaning her head against my brother's chest.

I frown, and I notice Stefan stiffen but he reluctantly wraps his arms around her.

Ah my brother and his hero haircut.

She continues to cry and I cringe slightly and look away, no matter how much I don't like her, I hate seeing girls cry.

Eventually she calms down, Stefan whispering soothing words into her ear and I can't help but wonder how he does it, because it's Rebekah Mikaelson and knowing how to calm _her_ down just doesn't make sense to me.

She's like a hurricane.

"Rebekah," I speak up against my better judgement and watch as she pulls out of Stefan's grasp and turns to face me, her eyes red raw and her mascara smudged down her cheeks. "I know this doesn't help, but I _am_ sorry for you. But Kol killed Katherine, he confessed to me and Elena and then Klaus overheard him, they fought and we managed to escape while they were too busy fighting to notice us and I really don't know what else happened. I have no idea where they are or what happened after we left…that's the truth."

She looks at me silently for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "Ok." She says quietly before turning back to face my brother. "Will you drive me home?"

Stefan looks surprised by her request but nods his head anyway and they both leave together.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding once they go and lean back against my uncomfortable pillows.

I wonder if all of the Mikaelson's have psychotic tendencies?

* * *

"So remember to take your medication twice a day, Elena, and to rest that leg and keep it elevated." my doctor warns me with a smile before leaving the room.

I let out a sigh of relief and pull on my jacket, so happy to be discharged. I don't think I could have spent another night here alone.

"Can we stop by and see Damon on our way out?" I ask hopefully to Jenna but it's not her who answers unfortunately.

"You heard what the doctor said, Elena, you need to rest that leg, and by resting she means at _home_." John tells me firmly but I roll my eyes and ignore him.

"Aunt Jenna?"

I watch as she glances between me and John unsure for a moment before sighing. "I'm sure a quick trip to say goodbye won't harm her."

"Won't harm her? He's the reason she is in this place!"

I glare at him and turn away angrily, no matter what I say to him, what I have already said to him over the last few hours he has been here; he refuses to accept that this isn't Damon's fault.

I push myself up from my bed, placing my arms through the handles of my crutches and balancing myself properly, knowing that it's going to take me a little while to get used to walking around in these things.

"You ok?" Jeremy asks me concerned and comes over to help me but I shake my head stopping him.

"I'm fine, I just need to get used to walking with these things. It's harder than it looks."

I wait patiently as Jenna gathers up the rest of my things in the room and just as we're about to leave a knock on the door interrupts us and I frown confused when I see that it's Miss Flemming.

"Hi," she walks in looking nervous and I look at her surprised.

"Hi…"

"Sorry, I didn't realize are you leaving already?" she notices the bags and the fact that I'm stood dressed out of bed, but that still doesn't explain what she's doing here?

"Can we help you?" John ignores her question and I notice that he's glaring at her.

She turns to look at him with a glare of her own before turning to look back over at me, her features softening. "I heard what happened, I just wanted to stop by and check that you're ok?"

"Yeah I'm…I'll be ok." I answer "Thanks for the concern."

"I uh, I brought you flowers." She walks closer into the room and I look down at the bouquet in her hands a little surprised.

"Thanks." I smile politely as Jenna quickly takes the flowers from her hands.

"That is very kind of you, thank you." Jenna thanks her again with a polite smile. "Alaric didn't mention that the school were going to send someone over."

She shifts awkwardly for a moment before answering. "Well…it was kind of a last minute thing, Elena is a popular girl over there, and we all wanted to wish her well."

"She's also in need of rest," John interrupts with a scowl on his face. "And we were just heading out; we need to get her home so she can rest her leg."

"_After_ I see Damon." I interrupt, still not missing the looks him and Miss Flemming keep sending each other. "I haven't seen him today, and I want to see him and quite frankly, _John_, you can't stop me."

"No one is stopping you, Elena." Jenna interrupts calmly before John can argue back.

"No? It seems that way." I glare at him and he just sighs and shakes his head.

"I just think it'd be best if you came straight home to spend some time with your family, this has affected them too you know, we have been so worried and scared for you."

"Oh don't you dare even talk to me about family!"

"Elena, John, please _not now_, we have a guest." Jenna widens her eyes at us and motions to Miss Flemming who I had temporarily forgotten was still in the room.

"Sorry." I mumble awkwardly before turning to face my brother. "Will you walk me to Damon's room?"

"Sure," he sends me a soft smile and grabs one of my bags, swinging it over his shoulder and walking out of the room, waiting outside by the door.

"Thanks again for the flowers Miss Flemming," I nod my head at her and smile politely and as I walk past she reaches her hand out and touches my arm.

"I'm just so glad that you're ok, Elena."

I force another smile and shift past her awkwardly to Jeremy who is stood in the hallway.

"So….that wasn't awkward at all." He smirks at me and I let out a small laugh as we walk towards the elevator.

"Nope, just a perfect normal morning with the Gilbert's." I roll my eyes as I press the button that takes us down to Damon's floor, waiting impatiently as it slowly moves. So anxious to see him.

We eventually get to his room and I walk inside without knocking, watching as he turns his gaze away from the window and onto me, his smile widening as he does so.

"Hey you." He smiles and waves me over, tubes are still attached to his arms and hands but at least he doesn't have his oxygen mask this time.

That's a good sign.

"Hi," I limp over to him with my crutches and immediately press my mouth against his, kissing him fiercely as his hand wraps around the back of my neck. "I missed you, so much." I mumble against his lips before pecking him softly.

"I missed you too." He pulls away and looks down at my leg with a grimace. "How are you doing? Does it still hurt?"

"A little, but my pain medication is keeping most of it at bay." I explain while going to sit down on the chair but Damon grabs my arm and pats the side of his bed with his over hand.

"You have to keep that leg elevated, right? The best way to do that is if you're lying on a bed you know." He tells me with a sweet smile on his face and I roll my eyes before climbing in alongside him, my leg laying flat across the bed.

"Sure," I tease him before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "How are you?" I ask softly as he shuffles a little beside me to get comfortable and I link one of my hands in his, our fingers looping together.

"Better than yesterday." He replies casually. "I still keep getting headaches and my ribs and chest are aching, but apart from that I'm peachy. Oh, and I almost forgot, I had a visitor earlier."

"Miss Flemming? She just stopped by my room too, I'm glad she came to see you, I thought it was little weird that she just randomly showed up."

"No," Damon turns his head to face me with a frown. "Rebekah."

"Rebekah? She came here?" I ask shocked and also a little pissed off. How dare she come and see him? "Hasn't her family done enough? What did she want?"

"She accused me of doing something to Klaus and Kol, claiming that we lied about Kol killing Katherine." He explains simply and I don't know how he can be so calm about this.

"That bitch! After everything that they did to us, to _you_, she has the nerve to storm in here and blame it on you?!"

"Look, it's fine." He squeezes my hand. "She was just upset and looking for someone to blame, we managed to calm her down and Stefan took her home."

"Why are you so calm about this?" I ask confused.

"Because despite how much she annoys the hell out of me, she hasn't actually done anything wrong in all of this. She can't help who she is related too, none of us can."

"Speaking of, John has been here _all_ day and has been driving me crazy." I huff in annoyance. "What part of I'm not ready to talk or see to him does he not understand?"

"So ignore him; he's not worth your time." He wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head slowly. "He left you, he sucks."

I smile a little at his words and close my eyes, leaning my head against his shoulder as he brings his hand up that's wrapped around me and plays with the bottom of my hair, twirling a piece around his finger slowly.

"Hey listen to me, Elena." He breaks the calm comfortable silence that he overtook us and I slowly open my eyes.

"What is it?" I ask a little concerned by the seriousness of his voice.

"Klaus and Kol, they are still out there somewhere, and until the police find them, I don't want you to go anywhere by yourself, ok?"

"I'll be fine, Damon. I may be in crutches but I'm not a total invalid."

"Elena I'm serious." He tells me firmly. "You know what they are capable of, what Kol is capable of. Please, I am asking you to do this for me, make sure you're never on your own, and the second I'm out of here I won't leave your side."

"Not that I'm complaining about you not leaving my side, don't you think that's a little extreme?" I ask him stubbornly.

"No, I don't." he hits back immediately. "Do this for me, Elena, so I can at least sleep just a little at night."

"Ok, sure, for you." I give in and he places his fingers under my chin and tilts my head back so he can kiss me. I sigh into the kiss before slowly pulling away. "When are you getting out of here anyway?"

He shrugs and kisses my nose quickly before replying. "No idea."

"I hope it's soon, I hate seeing you in here."

"I don't particularly enjoy it either baby," he smirks at me and I roll my eyes and tap his chest lightly.

A knock on the door interrupts us and I look up to see Jenna walk into the room with a small smile on her face.

"Hi guys," she greets us before turning her attention to my boyfriend. "How you feeling, Damon?"

"Better." He replies politely. "I hear this one has been discharged?"

"She sure has, which is why I'm here actually. John is getting impatient and wants to get you home."

I frown at her words and stay firmly rooted in my spot. "What's the rush? What better place for me to be than a hospital? How about _he_ leaves and I'll stay here?"

"Elena, he is only like this because he cares." She offers me but I just roll my eyes and shake my head.

"A bit late for that."

"Hey, maybe you should go?" Damon cuts in and I turn to look at him surprised.

"Are you serious?"

"Listen," he murmurs quietly into my ear so Jenna can't hear. "Sometimes it's best to pick your battles and let some go, play along, be nice, and put a smile on your face. Keep Jenna and Jeremy happy, be the bigger person. Go home, have a nice bath, have a nice hot homemade meal, an early night and first thing tomorrow morning, I'll have Stefan come and get you and bring you straight back here, no matter what John Gilbert says, ok?"

I let out a reluctant sigh before slowly nodding my head. "Ok, fine." She gives in. "I'll be here the second I can tomorrow though, all day." I warn him and watch as a smile crosses his lips.

"I wouldn't want anything else." He smiles softly at me as I slowly climb out of his bed and put my arms back in my crutches. "Come here." He motions me to lean down and the second I do his lips are back on mine in a searing kiss.

"Ahem." Jenna interrupts us with a fake cough after a few moments and I blush slightly, forgetting that she was still even in the room.

"I love you," Damon whispers at me softly.

"I love you too." I kiss him again before reluctantly pulling away. "I'll see you tomorrow." I wave him goodbye and grudgingly follow Jenna out of the room.

* * *

When I wake up the next morning I open my eyes surprised to find Giuseppe sitting on a chair beside my bed, I think this is the first time since I've been in here that I've actually seen him sit down and I frown at him confused.

"What are you doing here?" I ask puzzled.

"What kind of question is that? I'm your father." He replies sternly and I let out a dry laugh and turn my head away.

Is he serious?

"Look," he breaks the awkward silence that descends on us. "I wanted to apologize " I snap my head towards him in shock, because my father very rarely apologizes especially to me.

"For what?" I ask, trying to act uninterested.

"For what happened to you," he mutters out and I can tell he is finding this difficult. "I should have noticed sooner that you were missing." He coughs slightly before continuing. "But honestly Damon, you can't really blame me. It's not like you spend any time at home anyway, you're always off gallivanting around town with that Gilbert girl or your friends, and when you _are_ home you lock yourself away upstairs in your bedroom."

"Yeah and why the hell do you think that is?" I reply coldly. "And PS, I _don't_ gallivant, and that _Gilbert girl_ is called Elena, and you know that. She's my girlfriend; please treat her with some respect."

Giuseppe rolls his eyes and completely ignores what I've just said. "I spoke to Liz Forbes, she said she needs to ask you a few more questions when you're feeling better but apart from that this whole thing is over for you."

"How can it be over with Kol and Klaus still out there?" I ask him in disbelief and then a moment of realization crosses over me. "Oh no, no way in hell, please don't tell me the Founders Council are planning on brushing this under the carpet?!"

"Don't be so stupid," Giuseppe scolds me. "What I mean is, it will be over for _you_. You're probation runs out next month, and after that then everything that happens is all down to you." He tells me. "The Mikaelson boys aren't your problem anymore, the police are going to deal with them both in a correct manner. We have had several council meetings about this entire situation and we have all agreed that this time we won't be keeping it in house."

"Good." I clench my jaw slightly and watch as Giuseppe checks his phone as well fall into an uncomfortable silence which I definitely want to break. "So, any idea when I'll be getting out of this place?"

"I spoke to Dr Fell while you were asleep, she says not until at least the end of this week."

"Are you serious? I feel much better!"

"You had life threatening injuries, Damon, and the only reason that you're feeling better is because of those tubes attached to you and all of the medication you are taking, trust me, without them you would be in a lot more pain."

"Fine, whatever." I sigh and lean back against my bed, looking over at the clock on wall across the room, counting down the minutes until Elena gets here.

* * *

"That'll be Stefan!" I call out from the kitchen the next morning when the doorbell rings, hoping that Jenna or Jeremy will answer so I don't have to rush. I quickly finish off my coffee and place my arms back in my crutches as I hobble out into the hallway, anxious to see Damon, but immediately come to a halt when it's not Stefan stood by the door, which Jeremy has opened, but John.

"Great," I roll my eyes. "What do you want?"

"Less of your attitude." He fires back and I scowl at him. "Look, I know you're mad at me, I totally understand that, but we can't keep going on like this. You're hurt and whether you like it or not, we _are _family and you can't blame me and be angry at me for wanting to be around you right now. You could have died the other day, you nearly did." His tone is softer than it was before and I turn my head and look away. "I don't want to cause you anymore pain but-"

"If that were the case then you wouldn't be here!" I cut him off angrily. "I asked you for one thing, one thing and that was to give me some space but you can't even do that!"

"You got _shot_!"

"I'm very much aware of that!" I hiss back and look over John's shoulder to see Stefan skeptically walking up the steps of my porch through the open door that Jeremy has yet to close. He must have heard shouting because he pulls an awkward expression on his face.

"I can come back later?"

"No. I'm ready now; wait for me in the car?"

"Sure." He smiles slightly at me before nodding at Jeremy and walking back down the steps back over to his parked car at the bottom of my driveway.

"Now excuse me, I'm going out."

"You're going to see Damon? The doctor said you needed to stay home and rest."

"And I told you, you don't get to tell me what to do."

"Look, it's not like she's going to be running around is it? She's just going to be sat in a hospital." Jeremy jumps in to try and calm the situation down.

"Fine." John gives in with a sigh and I hop past him towards the door but he calls me back.

"What now?" I ask impatiently.

"Has uh…has that woman been back in contact with you since yesterday?" he asks stiffly.

"What woman?" I ask him confused.

"The teacher who stopped by the hospital yesterday, has she been back to see you or tried to contact you in any way?" he asks, trying to keep his tone light and casual but I can hear something edgy behind it, and by the frown on Jeremy's face, I'm guessing he can too.

"No." I reply with a frown, because this is getting weird. "Why would she?"

He shrugs "I don't know…I just don't want anyone to push you to go back to school." He explains. "You've been through a traumatic experience; you should only go back when you're ready."

"I don't think that's what she was doing…" I trail off confused.

He stands still for a moment and looks at me and my frown deepens. What the hell is wrong with him?

"I gotta go," I roll my eyes slightly, not in the mood to stay here for a moment longer and I leave as quickly as I can towards Stefan's car.

* * *

The second I arrive in Damon's room I wrap my arms around him in a tight hug, his own immediately wrapping around my waist.

"How are you?" I ask concerned as I eye him up and down and I can see a bit of his knife wound across the top of his chest from the edge of the top of his hospital gown.

"Better now for seeing you," he pulls back and kisses me softly on the lips. "You sleep ok?"

"Not really," I confess. I did have a few nightmares; most of them involving Klaus and Kol hurting Damon, but most of the reason was just the aching pain in my leg as I had to lie still in bed, any kind of movement irritated my still healing wound. "When do you get out of here? I'm sure I'll sleep better with you beside me."

"Not until the end of the week." He replies with a frown.

I sigh disappointed but I don't want him to leave any earlier than necessary while he is still recovering.

We spend the day just hanging out, talking and laughing together, teasing each other, watching TV, playing stupid card games that Damon always beats me at. It's nice, and calm, something I think we both needed.

We had some visitors along the way, Stefan came in and out a lot, and Rose stopped by briefly with Trevor and luckily we kept the Klaus and Kol chat to a minimum, even Alaric came to visit on his lunch break, which was amusing for me to watch him and Damon constantly bicker and tease each other.

I'd swear they were brothers in a past life.

After Dr Fell walked out the room after checking up on Damon, my phone beeps and I look down at my phone to see a text from John checking up on me.

"Who's that?" Damon asks curiously. "You look like someone has just stamped on a puppy."

"John." I reply with a huff. "He wants to know what time I'll be home." I ignore the text and throw my phone back in my purse.

"Is he still being full on?" he asks sympathetically before taking my hand in his and kissing each of my fingers.

"That's a word for it! Remember how I told you that Miss Flemming stopped by the hospital yesterday to send me some flowers?" Damon nods his head. "He asked me this morning if she had been in contact again, apparently he believes that she is pressuring me to go back to school, which is ridiculous because she didn't even say anything that could have hinted towards that. He is _so_ paranoid." I roll my eyes slightly. "Wait, did anyone from school drop by to check up on you?"

"Nope." He replies and then a smirk crosses his lips. "It's not like I'm popular over there though! Unlike you, _nerd_."

"Shut up!" I scold him and jokingly slap his arm. "It's not my fault that I'm obviously her favorite student!"

"You're every teachers favorite student, _suck up_!" he teases me and I pull my hand out of his and send him a mocking glare.

"Are you done being an ass?"

"Can I have your hand back?"

"Only if you promise to stop teasing me!"

"Fine," he smiles at me with a chuckle and I can't help but let out a laugh of my own, his smile is so real and perfect and it literally gives me butterflies. I loop my fingers back through his and he brings them back up to his lips to kiss my knuckles softly. "That's better," he smiles at me before bringing it back down, our hands still attached as they rest on the bed beside him.

We fall into a comfortable silence, both just grateful to be in each other's company and relieved that we're going to be ok, when I notice a frown cross Damon's face.

"Hey…Elena?" he turns to face me, his face serious and I scrunch my eyebrows together concerned.

"Yeah?"

"Can you remember when I told you that I saw John arguing with Miss Flemming at school the other week?"

"Yeah…" I answer confused, remembering when he told me that John had clearly been looking for me, even though I never actually saw him that day after all.

"You've mentioned before how weird she can be with you, and I've noticed it too. She always shows concern and asks questions, and not just in a typical student-teacher kind of way."

"I don't understand what you're getting at here, Damon?"

"What did you say your birth Mom was called again?" he asks slowly and my frown deepens.

"John said she was called Belle." I answer, still confused by where this is going but then I feel goosebumps cross over my arms and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. "Why Damon?" I gulp slightly, afraid of his answer.

"Miss Flemming…" he looks at me, his eyes wide. "Her name…it's-"

My heart starts to pound hard against my chest as my face matches his shocked own, a sickly feeling attacking the pits of my stomach.

"Isobel." I whisper out in shock.

* * *

**So they have finally figured it out! It has been said that Damon is too smart for his own good!**

**Thanks for all your awesome and amazing reviews, you're all the reason I can keep updating this story at a fairly speedy pace! **

**Until next time! :) **


	36. Chapter 36

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

* * *

"Oh my god."

I watch as a shocked look takes over my girlfriends face and I notice her eyes start to glisten with tears.

"Oh my god." She repeats, barely audible but I hear it. "This…no…this can't be happening. This isn't…she isn't."

"Elena," I try to speak but she continues to rant quietly, mumbling and muttering words as she sits in the chair beside my bed, her eyes wide and her jaw open and I swear if it wasn't for her leg, she would be pacing the room right now. "Elena."

Her head snaps towards me, her eyes still wide and glistening and she looks heart broken and in turn that breaks _my_ heart.

"Come here," I open my arms up and watch as she slowly pulls herself to her feet and climbs into the bed beside me. I immediately wrap my arms around her and hold her close against me, and take one of her shaking hands in my own. I kiss the top of her head and then her temple before placing a slow peck on her cheek, my other hand running up and down her arm slowly. "We could be wrong."

"No," she shakes her head. "This makes sense, this all makes sense now. Why wouldn't John just tell me? I have a right to know!"

"Look, before we go jumping to conclusions, we need to know for sure before we throw around these accusations."

"What?" she sits up and turns to look at me, a look of annoyance on her face. "So now you think she's _not_ my birth mother?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying." I argue back calmly. "But how is it going to look if we go in all guns blazing and it turns out to be just a coincidence?"

She sighs and leans back down, letting out a shaky breath before speaking. "How can we know for sure without straight up asking her? I don't trust John to tell me the truth and _she_ doesn't seem to be confessing anything anytime soon."

"Then we do our own digging." I tell her reassuringly. "My Dad, he knows people and I'm sure that if I pay them they will look into this for me."

"No, I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking baby, I'm doing this for you because I want to. I want you to get the answers you deserve, the answers that you should have known all along." I squeeze her arm lean forward and twist my head so we are face to face. "Only if you're sure though? You don't have to know, we can just pretend this entire conversation never happened if you want?"

"No, I need too." she replies quietly, her eyes sad and I nod my head in understanding. "I need to know."

"Ok. When Stefan comes back I'll ask him to get me some phone numbers and I'll sort something, ok?"

"Ok." She murmurs quietly and I watch as she drifts off into a world of her own and I know that all I can do is be here for her, sit by her side, hold her hand. This is something she needs to think about on her own, but I'll make sure that I'll be right there behind her every step of the way.

"Hey," I break the silence and place my finger underneath her chin, bringing her head to face mine. "I love you, ok? No matter what happens with Miss Fle…Isobel, whatever you want to call her, I'm here, ok? I'll be here for you, no matter what." I tell her firmly because she needs to know that I'm done with being the idiotic boyfriend. I made that mistake before and it nearly cost us both of our lives, from now on, everything that I do, will be solely for Elena Gilbert.

Nothing else is more important.

She nods her head and when a tear falls from her eyes I lean forward and kiss it away before pressing a slow soft kiss to her lips.

She pulls away slowly and places her hand on my cheek, a small sad smile crossing her lips. "I love you too."

"I know." I peck her again slowly "It's me and you now, we stick together, no matter what."

"I like the sound of that," she smiles despite herself and kisses me again.

* * *

"Flemming, that's right." I watch as Damon paces his hospital room slowly with his phone pressed to his ear, glancing at me every few seconds as he speaks to the private investigator that he hired a couple of days ago to look into Isobel.

"Ahuh." He quickly grabs a notepad from the side before writing something down. "Thanks, stay in touch and keep me updated." He hangs up and picks up the piece of paper and I look at him anxiously.

"Well?"

"She's a closed book apparently." He walks around and sits on the edge of his bed by the chair I'm sitting on, and I'm reminded of how well he has recovered over the last couple of days, before he reaches down and takes one of my hands in his. "He's going to keep digging, see if he can find any records of a pregnancy, but so far all he's found out is her date of birth and where she grew up, etc."

"Georgia?" I question nervously and watch as he nods his head.

"Savannah, Georgia." He confirms. "Isobel Flemming, aged 35, born February 10th 1978, daughter of Joseph and Laura Flemming." He lists off like he's repeating what's been said to him.

"John said my birth mother was from Georgia, it's her, isn't it?" He shrugs and let's go of my hand to fiddle with the piece of paper in his hand, looking down at it with a frown on his face as he twirls it around between his fingers. "What's that?"

He lifts his head up to look at me and lets out a sigh before answering. "Her address."

"In Savannah?"

"No." he shakes his head. "Mystic Falls."

"Oh." I mumble quietly and gulp.

"Don't worry about it." He gets off the bed before kneeling down in front of me so he is just below my eye level, his hands moving onto my thighs, stroking them slowly over my jeans. "No pressure, remember? It's just here if you want it."

"It's not like she'd be hard to actually find, I mean…she's my science teacher in my school." I say the words and shake my head in disbelief. My _mother_ is my freaking science teacher. "Jesus."

"I know." He squeezes one of my thighs reaching to stroke my arms. "It's surreal, it's…crazy. This shit shouldn't happen in real life."

"None of this should," I motion to the hospital room we are currently sat in, still reminding us of the near death experience we both shared. How many teenagers can say that they were kidnapped, held hostage, tortured, and had been shot all before graduation?

Hell, how many teenagers can say that they've been held at gunpoint _twice_, by the _same_ person?

Damon's 19 and he's already been through more than most people have in an entire life time.

"Things can only get better, right?" he smiles at me sweetly but I can't bring myself to return it.

"Can they?" I ask skeptically "This is all going to blow up once this all comes out, and Jenna already knows that I'm hiding something, I hate lying to her, but I just…It's hard. I don't know how to deal with this, Damon." I confess sadly, feeling my eyes start to sting with tears yet again and I hate myself for crying once more.

"No one is expecting you to know." He reaches higher on his knees and wipes at the tears that have slipped down my cheeks soothingly with his thumbs. "We don't have the answers, and if we're right about Isobel, then yeah, things are going to be difficult for a while. But we'll get through it, ok? I mean…_look_," He motions down to my injured leg, which is covered up by my jeans but my crutches rest on the floor beside me, reminding us both that it's still there. "You survived a _bullet_, that's pretty badass Elena Gilbert."

I laugh at his words despite myself and watch as his smile widens.

"There we go!" he traces my lips with his finger. "There's that smile I love."

"I guess a bullet wound does make me pretty badass." I smirk "It's like we match now or something, we can bullet bond."

He chuckles and leans up to kiss me, which I happily return. "Bullet bond huh?" he mumbles against my lips. "I think we can make something kinky out of that."

"Damon!" I slap his arm and pull away from him in amused disbelief.

"What?" he asks with a smile that is far from innocent. "I'll show you _mine_, if you show me _yours_." He tries to kiss me again but I press my hand onto his face and push him down, so he's back to kneeling on his knees.

"Don't pout." I roll my eyes at him when I notice the pucker on his lips and the crease in his eyebrows. "It's not your most attractive look." I try to hide the amusement from my voice.

"Oh so what _is_ my most attractive look?"

"I didn't say you _had_ one."

"I think you implied it though."

"Nah, you're mistaken."

"I don't think I am."

"Well you're delusional."

"It's probably the medication; I'm on some pretty hard stuff you know."

"Got any to share?" I tease him amused, glad that even despite everything that is going on right now, Damon still knows how to make me smile.

"Only if you ask me nicely, and repay me with lots and lots of pleasurable activities."

"What kind of pleasurable activities?"

He smirks at me. "I'm sure your imagination can think up a few."

Damn right it can.

Are teasing is interrupted by a knock on the door and I look behind me to see Dr Fell walk in, a notepad in her hand as she enters with her usual smile on her face.

"Good morning Damon, Elena." She greets us both and Damon slowly brings himself back up to his feet before sitting on the bed. "How is my favorite patient feeling today?"

"So much better now that _you're_ here Dr Fell, you sure know how to brighten up my day." He grins at her and I roll my eyes at his shameless flirting.

I will never understand Damon's fascination with flirting with the older generation of Mystic Falls. Well, not that Dr Fell is old, because she's not, but still, she's much older than the two of us.

"You better keep an eye on this one, Elena." She smiles at me amused and I let out a laugh.

"Oh don't worry, I already am."

"So, do you have some good news for me? When do I get to go home?" Damon asks anxiously and I can tell how fed up he is being here. But it's only been a few days since he was brought in here, and despite how he may seem, he is still recovering.

"I've looked at your charts and your recent test results, and everything seems to be where it should be at this stage." I let out a sigh of relief at her words.

"But…?"

"There is no but, Damon." She smiles and I watch as Damon's shoulders sag in release of the underlying tension that was there the moment Dr Fell entered the room. "If you continue to rest, there is no reason that we can't discharge you Sunday afternoon, but only if you promise to stay at home and rest, no overdoing it!"

"Tomorrow?" Damon smiles. "That's awesome, thank you."

"And I'll make sure he gets rest." I cut in after realizing that Damon has completely ignored everything else she said after saying that he can go home.

"Good, because this is serious, Damon, you are still recovering, and the medication you're on is soothing a lot of your pain, but we're going to have to lower your dosage and put you on a less durable prescription once you've been discharged, which means that although you may feel fine now, the pain is probably going to come back and be worse for a couple of days while your body continues to heal."

"I'll be fine." Damon immediately tells me once he notices the worried look on my face at Dr Fell's word.

"Yes, you will be." She confirms. "But only if you take it easy." She advises.

"Of course, I mean look, my girlfriend is on crutches, and she's the only person I'd overdo it with anyway so it's not like we can even do anything right now anyway…"

"Damon!" I scold him immediately, my cheeks burning up and flushing red.

"What? I meant like go for a run or something!"

I know fine well that he did _not_ mean that.

Dr Fell however doesn't seem fazed and instead just shakes her head with a smile. "I'll be back this afternoon with your meds, remember, stay rested and try not to stay on your feet for too long!" she warns him before looking down at my leg for a moment. "You too actually, Elena."

"We got it Doc." Damon smiles and watches as she leaves the room before turning his head to face me with a smirk on his lips and _that _glint in his eye.

He doesn't have time to react and I watch in satisfaction as the pillow I pull out from behind me crashes full force into his face.

* * *

"So when are you going to come back to school, Lena?" Caroline asks from her place on my bed and I freeze slightly and stay silent for a few moments.

"Soon." I reply shortly and check my phone to see a text from Damon to say that he is just filling out some paperwork and then he will be allowed to leave the hospital.

I wanted to be there myself, but Giuseppe insisted that it should be family only but I know he was just saying that because he doesn't like me. He still blames me for hurting Stefan.

"How soon is soon?" Bonnie asks curiously.

To be honest, the thought of going back to school and sitting in a classroom opposite…_her_, three days a week, terrify me. How am I supposed to go in there and pretend that I don't know who she is? How am I supposed to act normal around her? Like everything is ok?

It's not ok.

"I don't know guys," I sigh loudly. "Probably when Damon goes back."

"But that probably won't be for a little while yet, your leg is getting better, right?" Bonnie frowns at me and I turn around to face her in annoyance.

"What's the sudden rush? I'm not ready to go back yet, ok? Just leave it as that."

"Is there something else going on here?" Caroline sits up on my bed and looks at me concerned. "You've been snappy all week…"

"Well I kind of just got shot in the leg from a psycho who wanted to kill my boyfriend, sorry that I haven't been a joy to be around these days." I know I shouldn't be using this as an excuse, because to be honest, the main reason that I'm not exactly pleasant to be around these days is not because of Klaus and Kol. I wouldn't give the two of them the satisfaction of getting to me.

"Elena." Bonnie looks at me worriedly while Caroline climbs off my bed and the two walk towards me where I'm sat on my windowsill, sitting on either side of me. "You know, you can talk to us about what happened, right? We're your best friends, that's what were here for."

I think about her words and close my eyes, willing myself not to cry before speaking. "That isn't the reason," I confess quietly as Bonnie takes one of my hands in hers.

"What is it? If you're worried about Damon, it's ok, he's fine, he wouldn't be allowed to leave the hospital today if he wasn't." she offers and I shake my head.

"It's not Damon."

"Then what is it sweetie?" Caroline asks softly. "You've been on edge for days, and the only time you seem to be ok is when you're visiting Damon, so if it's not him, then what is it?"

I clench my jaw slightly and take a deep breath. "I found out who my birth mother is." I blurt out before I change my mind and I can feel the tension in the room as we fall into silence.

"Wow, ok." Caroline speaks up first. "That's…that explains a lot."

I shake my hand and push some hair out of the way that has fallen down onto my face before wiping at my wet eyes, trying not to cry.

"How did you find out? Did John tell you?" Bonnie asks curiously and I shake my head.

"No, no, he didn't, and no one else knows about this except for Damon so don't say anything ok?" I warn them and they both quickly nod their heads. "It gets worse…"

"Why? She's not some messed up junkie is she?"

"Caroline!" Bonnie scolds her but I can't help but let out a laugh.

"No, no." I shake my head, a smile lingering on my lips. "Probably would be better though, at least then it would make more sense!"

"How do you mean?" Bonnie asks softly, squeezing my hand and the smile slowly falls from my lips.

"I know who she is, and…she doesn't…at least, not at first, seem like the type of person to…"

"Abandon a baby?" Caroline finishes for me and I notice the glare that Bonnie sends her way but I nod my head in agreement.

"Yeah."

"Wait, if you know who she is…have you met her?" Bonnie questions curiously and I slowly nod. "Wow, does she…did she know who you are?"

"Yeah, I mean…I think so but…I didn't know who _she was_ when I met her…"

"Wait, so…do we all know her?" Caroline asks confused and when I nod her head she mutters "Oh my god" underneath her breath. "Who is it?"

I let out a dry cold laugh as I think about it, because it's still crazy to me. "Our science teacher…"

"What?!" Caroline gaps loudly and stands up.

"Miss Flemming?" Bonnie looks at me shocked and I slowly nod my head. "Oh my god. And you know this for sure?"

"Pretty much, Damon has hired a private investigator to look into it and all arrows are pointing to her, so…"

"Wow." Caroline looks down at me, her eyes still wide in shock. "I'm so sorry, Elena."

"It's ok."

"I think this calls for a girls night!" Caroline immediately leaves her shocked state. "I'm talking chocolate, ice cream, popcorn, movies, face masks, the lot!"

"I can't Care, I told Damon I'd go over to his tonight."

"Sorry but Damon is going to have to wait! He's had you to himself all week, we need best friend time!" she tells me and I know that there is no point in arguing.

"Fine, but only if I get to pick the movies?"

"Deal!"

* * *

"Hey Damon, can I talk to you for a second?" Stefan stands in my doorway and I turn my head from my place lying on my bed and close my laptop that is resting on my knees.

"Sure." I motion for him to come in and watch as he closes the door behind him. Our relationship, although a lot better than what it was two weeks ago, is still a little strained, in fact, it's more awkward now than ever before because we're both too cautious not to say something to piss the other off and break this little temporary truce that we have going on.

"Why did you want Lee Jameson's number?" he questions skeptically.

"No reason, Stef." I reply casually. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing."

"What? You wanted a private investigators phone number for _no reason_?" he frowns at me, not buying my nonchalance about the situation.

"Look, you know that I'm not going to tell you brother, so why ask?"

"I just thought you would have learned your lesson by now." He looks at me in annoyance, a flicker of anger crossing his face. "I thought that Elena getting hurt would have snapped some sense into you."

"Excuse me?"

"It's obvious why you hired Jameson, Damon, I'm not an idiot, and neither is Dad and he is going to be so pissed off when he finds out you are still fixated on Klaus Mikaelson. He's gone, Damon."

I let out a laugh and shake my head. "You think I hired Jameson to look for Klaus?"

"Well, why else?"

I shake my head again. "I'm done with that jackass, baby bro. I mean, sure, I hope the cops find him and Kol soon and arrest both their asses; I want them to pay for what they did to Elena, for what Kol did to Katherine, but honestly? I'm not going to stress about it, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of getting to me anymore, and they can't run forever, especially with a murder charge on one of their backs. Elena is ok, I'm ok, therefore I'm over it."

Stefan looks at me unsure. "You're over it? Just like that?"

"It's not just like that baby bro," I roll my eyes. "It's been almost a year now since _that_ night, I've wasted so much time already playing things over and over in my head, driving myself crazy by being so hell bent on revenge. I fucked up last week, big time, and now I've learnt my lesson. I'm happy, I'm not going to ruin that for a Mikaelson."

"So what's with the private investigator?"

"It's a for a friend." I tell him with a shrug and watch as he frowns.

"Kind of an expensive thing to just do for a friend." He looks like he doesn't believe me.

"Yeah well I owed him a big favor, this is it." I lie casually because there is no way in hell that I'm going to share Elena's problems with my idiot of a brother.

"What friend?"

I sigh and let out a loud breath of annoyance, not even bothering to hide it. "A friend I met back when I was in Ohio looking for Klaus, he helped me out big style so I promised that I'd do the same for him when he needed so. He needs to look into someone, doesn't have much cash, asked me to loan him some, I did one better and hired a private investigator for him. That is it, Stef." The lie rolls off my tongue easily. "There's no conspiracy theory, I'm not going after Klaus or Kol."

"Fine." He nods his head and I actually think he genuinely believes me. "I believe you." He confirms my thoughts. "But you know why I had to ask, right? Why I'd be suspicious."

"Of course." I agree. "I get it." I watch as he leans back and forth for a minute before turning to leave the room awkwardly. "Hey Stef." I call out after him before he walks out of the door.

He turns around, stood in my doorway. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?" he frowns at me puzzled.

"For you know…being…concerned and everything…" I trail awkwardly and look down, cringing slightly at my words. I do not do heartfelt moments, especially with Stefan.

Stefan chuckles and I roll my eyes in annoyance and look back over at him, a smug expression clear on his face. "I'm your brother, Damon, despite how much of a pain in my ass you are…well…" now _he_ looks uncomfortable. "You're my brother." he states simply.

I nod my head and he smiles slightly before leaving the room.

I cringe at myself before reaching over and grabbing my phone from my bedside table, immediately scrolling through my contact list to find Elena's name.

I wait for a few long seconds, listening to the dial and ring before she eventually picks up.

"_Hey you! I'm glad you called, I miss you." _

I smile into the phone and lift open my laptop screen. "I miss you too. How's your girls night?"

"_Well, I ate too much junk food, and now Caroline is insisting we order in a giant pizza but I don't know if I can take it, my stomach feels like it's going to explode."_

"Oh please, we both know you'd eat it _and_ want desert, Gilbert!"

"_Damon!"_ she scolds me and I chuckle, moving my finger over the touch pad of my laptop and clicking on Elena's Facebook profile page.

"What movie are you going to watch?" I ask as I flick through her photos with a smile, taking in her beauty, her smile, her eyes…_everything_.

"_We haven't decided yet, maybe Harry Potter, but we always end up arguing over which one."_ I practically hear her roll her eyes and it makes me smile, because she sounds happy and carefree and I like it. _"What are you doing?"_

"Facebook stalking you." I reply casually.

"_Oh yeah?" _

"Ahuh, looking through all of your photos, admiring how hot you are."

"_Perv."_ She teases me jokingly.

"Hey, it's not my fault. It's your fault, if you hadn't of ditched me tonight I'd have the real thing right in front of me."

"_They practically locked me in my bedroom refusing to let me leave, I didn't have a choice on the matter!" _I hear the amusement in her voice.

I chuckle and lean back further into my pillows. "You know it's fine, I'm just glad you're having fun."

"_I'd be having more fun if you were here though." _

"_Hey, I heard that!"_ I hear Caroline shout in the background and I laugh some more as Elena quickly apologizes to her.

"Look, I'll let you get back to your night, I just wanted to call to check in."

"_No, no, you don't have to go yet!"_ She quickly replies.

"You can't order that pizza I _know_ you want if you're on the phone to me, can you? Go on, I'll text you."

"_Ok."_ She sighs giving in. _"I'm coming to see you first thing tomorrow though."_

"I expect nothing else!"

"_Good, take it easy, yeah? Remember what the doctor said, bed rest!"_

"I know, I know." I appease her. "I heard her too, Elena."

"_Just checking, I know what you're like Salvatore." _

"Yeah yeah, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"_Can't wait. I love you." _

"I love you too." I smile before hanging up and letting out a content sigh. As long as she's happy, I'm happy.

* * *

I get to the bottom of the stairs and I'm about to hop into the kitchen to get some money for the pizza that we've just ordered but stop when I hear my Aunt Jenna and John, who seem to be in the middle of a tense discussion.

About me.

"Look, all I'm saying is maybe you should tell her to take a step back from Damon."

"Oh so you want _me_ to tell her now?"

"You know she doesn't listen to me! I'm not trying to be unreasonable, but you said yourself that she's really attached to him. She's still so young, she's not even eighteen yet and she's in her third serious relationship?" I scowl at his words because that is certainly not the case.

"I'd hardly call what she had with Matt Donovan a serious relationship, they were just kids, and as for Stefan, that was different too. Look, I know my niece, and I know that she's genuinely in love with Damon. Ok, you're right, she may be too attached, but they have been through a lot together, it's to be expected."

"It's not healthy, Jenna."

"It'll pass."

"She's not happy unless she's with him, you've seen for yourself how moody and grouchy she is when he's not around. How is that good for her? That's not normal."

"It is normal, John! She's a teenager!"

"Exactly!" he argues. "She's seventeen, and what she and Damon have? It's too serious. And if her getting _shot_ for that boy doesn't make you see that then I'm really starting to question your guardian skills."

"Excuse me?!"

"You're one to talk about guardian skills, John." I make my presence known, the bottom of my crutches hitting against the tiled kitchen floor and they both turn their heads to face me in shock.

"Elena…"

"No, don't." I cut him off. "I heard what you said and you're wrong."

"I'm just trying to look out for you, surely you can understand that?"

"No, I don't." I glare at him. "I don't understand that because you never cared a damn before."

"That's not true." He shakes his head. "I've always cared about you, Elena, I've always loved you."

"Don't say that!"

"Look, now isn't really the time for this." Jenna cuts in calmly. "John, apologize."

"I'm not going to apologize for being concerned!" he argues immediately before turning to face me. "I think Damon Salvatore is trouble, he's a bad influence on you, Elena, and I don't want you hanging around with guys like him!"

"Guys like him?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yes. Guys like him, who are involved in gangs and _murders_! You got shot, Elena, you could have died, all because you're his girlfriend!"

"That wasn't Damon's fault!" I argue furiously, sick of those words coming out of my mouth, sick of having to repeat them, especially to _him_.

"So you're telling me that this would have happened if you weren't dating him?" he eyes me with a raised eyebrow and I frown.

"Well no of course not, but-"

"There is no but, Elena! I don't want you seeing him anymore, and that's final." He tells me sternly.

"WHAT?!" I shout at him in disbelief.

"John…" Jenna cuts in but I cut her off.

"You can't stop me from seeing him, you don't get to have a say in my life!"

"I'm your father!"

"No! You're not, my father is dead!" I feel the tears burning into my eyes. "You can't just waltz in here like this, acting like you know me, acting like you know what's best for me, because you don't. You don't get to have a say, you don't even get to have an opinion on my life! You don't know me! You don't know anything about me, nor do you know what's best for me!"

I ignore the hurt look that crosses his face, because I don't care, this is too much, this is too far. He can't do this.

"And besides, you can't pick and choose the times to be a father! Not when you're keeping my own birth mother from me."

"I told you already, I don't know where she is, it's been almost 18 years, Elena."

"And I know that you're lying." I snap at him angrily. "I know that you know who she is, I know that it hasn't been 18 years and I know that you know she's trying to get to know me!" I watch as a shocked look crosses his face.

"What?" Jenna steps forward, a frown on her face. "What are you talking about?" she turns to look at John. "You're in contact with her? I thought you said you didn't know where she was."

Before he can answer I speak up. "Better yet, _I'm_ in contact with her, I just didn't know it."

"What?!" Jenna looks at me in disbelief. "Ok, will someone please tell me what's going on here?"

"Why don't you do the honors, _Uncle_ John." I glare at him and watch as he anxiously runs a hand through his hair.

"Look, I'm doing what's right by Elena." He tells Jenna "I didn't tell her because I didn't want to hurt her."

"So instead, you let me sit in a classroom with my real mother on pretty much a day to day basis for months? Totally oblivious to whom she really is."

"A classroom?" Jenna's eyes widen. "Oh my god, she works in Mystic Falls High? She lives here? In this town?" she questions in complete disbelief.

"You know my science teacher? Miss Flemming?" I look at Jenna and watch as she slowly nods her head. "That's her."

"Does she know that you know?" John asks hesitantly and I shake my head.

"No."

"How did you find out?" Jenna comes to stand beside me and rests her hand on my arm.

"Damon and I figured it out; she wasn't exactly subtle in her interest towards me so it wasn't hard to put all the pieces together."

"Are you ok?" she asks concerned and I slowly nod my head.

"It's a lot to take in," I admit. "But I'm dealing with it."

"You should have told me you knew the second you found out." John sighs. "We could have dealt with this together."

"Are you serious? Why the hell would I tell you anything after you kept this from me? You told me you weren't in contact with her! You lied to me! Again!"

"I did it to protect you!"

I go to argue but Jenna squeezes my arm and interrupts. "Look, I don't think now is the best time to discuss this. Elena is still recovering and she's been through enough lately, I think it'll be best if you just leave for now John."

"I don't want to leave when we still have things to discuss, I still have things I need to say."

"Well then I'm not asking!" Jenna snaps at him angrily and I'm surprised by the coldness in her tone. "This house doesn't belong to you, it's belongs to Elena and Jeremy, and since _I'm_ their legal guardian, it's under my care until they are both over the age of 18, so I'm _telling_ you, to leave."

"Jenna-"

"Get out, John!"

"Fine," he sighs giving in and stops when he passes me. "But just know, Elena, that everything I've done, I've done to protect you. You may not see it now, but you will." He smiles a little at me, ignoring the glare on my face before touching my arm for a second and leaving.

I let out a sigh I didn't even realize I was holding as I hear the front door slam shut and I watch as Jenna walks to stand in front of me, her hands on her hips.

"Ok, you need to tell me everything, _now_. No more secrets, Elena."

"Caroline and Bonnie are still waiting for me upstairs…" I try to excuse myself but she isn't having it.

"Well then you better make it quick. Tell me everything, Elena." She says firmly.

So I do.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Please review and let me know :)**

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, as always, it's much appreciated and I think you're all awesome! **

**Until next time! **


	37. Chapter 37

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Holy cow! The last episode of TVD, I thought it was possibly the best/saddest/most intense one ever! Nina Dobrev just absolutely killed it! Amazing! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next with Elena, I think it'll be refreshing to see this new side to her without her humanity. **

**Ok, so warning, this is kind of a filler chapter! **

* * *

I watch as Elena nervously packs a bag, her hands are shaking and her face is pale and no matter what I say I know that I won't be able to make her feel any better.

"So what's the plan of action?" Caroline interrupts the silence that has descended over Elena's bedroom and I watch Elena stiffen slightly before shrugging.

"There isn't one." She confesses.

"Well maybe we should think of something?" Caroline suggests. "I mean, surely it'll be better if you're prepared."

"She's only going to school, Caroline." I cut in from my place lying on Elena's bed, my back pressed against her headboard. "There doesn't need to be any POA's or prep!"

"Yeah but-"

"But nothing." I cut in again firmly. "She's going to go to school like it's any normal day, it's going to be bad enough that people probably know a little about what happened and will be whispering and gossiping, she doesn't need any_ more _hassle."

"I am right here, you know." Elena mutters in annoyance and finally zips up her bag pack. "But I'll be fine, Care. I'm not going to say anything to…Isobel."

"Are you not worried in case she knows that you know now?"

"John told Jenna that he hadn't said anything, I think for once he is actually willing to respect my wishes and wait until I figure all of this out."

"Ok, if you're sure?" Caroline looks concerned but Elena just nods her head and reaches for her crutches. I go to stand up and pull on my jacket.

"Come on then, let's go!" I make my way towards the door but Elena steps in front of me with a frown. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Uh…leaving?"

"For school?"

"Yes…"

"Damon!" she scolds me immediately. "No. You're not ready!"

"I feel fine, Elena." I roll my eyes and go to walk around her but she stops me.

"You're ribs are still giving you trouble, you're still in pain! And you're medication still makes you feel weak and drowsy. You're not fine, Damon."

"I feel much better," I argue. "Besides, you really think I'm going to let you go back to school and face Isobel alone? Face those annoying small minded idiots in our class without me threatening to kick their asses? Not a chance in hell."

There is no way I am letting Elena go back to school without me. Too much has happened, and not just with Isobel.

"But-" she goes to argue but I press my finger against her lips.

"No buts baby." I say softly. "I feel better, and I'll take it easy, ok? Giuseppe wouldn't have even let me even leave the house unless he thought I was ready, trust me, I've been on bed rest for the last three days, I'm good."

"Only if you're sure?" she looks hesitant but I know that she won't argue with me on this anymore.

"Absolutely." I lean down and kiss her quickly before running my hand down her hair. "Alright then, let's go give the students of Mystic Falls something to look at!"

Caroline gives us a ride to school along with Jeremy and once we walk into the quad from the carpark, I'm aware that eyes are immediately on us.

I roll my eyes and take Elena's bag from her as she struggles to walk along the graveled path with her crutches.

"Just ignore them." I tell Elena firmly as two cheerleaders walk past and I hear the words 'Klaus' and 'shot' being mentioned and I know that Elena heard it too.

"Hey sluts!" Caroline calls after them and they both turn around guiltily. "Amy, did you know that Cassandra here slept with your boyfriend at Lee Gardner's birthday party last month? No? Didn't think so, have a nice day!"

I can't help the amused laugh that falls from my lips at her words as the girl who I'm assuming is Amy turns to her friend horrified before storming away, the other girl who I am guessing is Cassandra, following her. I would have been annoyed at Caroline for not just ignoring them but when I see the faint smile on Elena's lips I know that I can't be cross with her.

"I hate those two," Caroline rants as we walk into the building and down the busy hallway, keeping at a slow pace as Elena hops between both Caroline and I, Jeremy wondering off to see his friends.

"Is it true?" Elena asks her amused and Caroline just shrugs.

"I don't know, probably, she's a slut." Caroline replies casually and I chuckle as we eventually make it to Elena's locker.

I immediately open it for her and put her books inside before grabbing the one she needs for this morning.

Biology.

With Miss Flemming.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok, Lena?" Caroline asks quietly. "We could skip first period…"

"No." Elena sighs. "I need to get this over with, besides, Damon will be there, and Bonnie too." She forces a smile and Caroline sighs before wrapping her arms around my girlfriend.

"Ok, well text me and I'll see you in History later, yeah?"

"Yeah." Elena nods her head before Caroline leaves us too it.

I watch silently as Elena fiddles around in her locker, trying to move things about but the crutches hanging off her arms are getting in her way.

"Damn it!" she slams her locker shut in annoyance and pulls off one of her crutches from her arms. "I hate these stupid things! You'd think they'd have thought of something easier to help people get around than these stupid plastic sticks that hurt your arms and get in everyone's damn way!" she rants but I know that this is about more than just her crutches.

"Hey, hey." I step forward and place my hands on her arms. "It's ok, calm down baby." I run my hand down her now free left arm and take her hand in mine. "One hour, that's it. We can get through this, we've been through worse, remember?"

"I'm scared, Damon." She admits with a shaky voice, her big brown eyes glistening with unshed tears and I step closer and kiss her forehead slowly.

"I know you are."

"How can I sit there knowing who she really is and just pretend that everything's ok? That this isn't really fucked up…"

"Because you have nothing to be ashamed of here, you have nothing to be guilty about. That's all on her, Elena, not you." I use my other hand to trace my thumb across her cheek. "You need to be strong, until you figure out what you want to do next; you're just going to have to pretend."

"It's _hard_."

"I know it is baby," I hate how scared and sad she looks, it's breaking my heart. "I'll be right beside you, and if it's too much we can just leave ok? I'll say your leg is hurting or something, just give me a signal and we're out of here."

"Ok." She nods her head and takes a deep breath. "Let's go then."

* * *

I follow Damon into the classroom and I'm a little relieved to see that Isobel isn't there yet, I ignore the fact that the few students that are already in the room fall silent as we enter and take my regular seat, Damon choosing to sit in Stefan's still vacant one beside me instead of stealing Bonnie's or going to his own desk.

"Hey now, don't stop on our account." Damon rolls his eyes at some of our classmates but I just ignore it and open up my notebook. I turn my head and watch as Damon clutches his side for a second and I frown immediately concerned.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine." He smiles at me and quickly lets go of his side.

"_Damon_." I look at him worriedly, immediately regretting not arguing with him further about coming back to school. I knew it was too soon, Dr Fell told him he needed to be on bed rest for a week and it's only been three days since he was discharged from hospital.

"I'm fine, Elena." He says with a firm tone. "Stop worrying about me, ok?" he reaches his hand over and squeezes my own and I sigh before nodding my head.

"I can't help it."

"And I love you for that," he smiles before shuffling his desk along so it's closer to mine and bringing my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles and then my palm. "Let's worry about one thing at a time, hey?" he motions with his head and I look up just in time to see Isobel walk into the classroom, her arms filled with books that she drops on her desk.

"Elena." She looks at me surprised and then at my boyfriend. "Damon. I wasn't expecting to see you both back so soon."

My mouth goes dry and my heart starts pounding heavily against my chest because suddenly this just got very real.

She's my mother.

My actual blood related birth mother.

Oh my god.

"Well you know us, always keen to learn." Damon speaks up and squeezes my hand tightly.

"Elena? Are you ok?" she walks towards my desk concerned and my eyes widen slightly, my stomach sick with nerves and I actually feel like I'm about to throw up. Or hyperventilate.

I'm her _daughter_.

"She's fine." Damon replies quickly, his tone slightly edgy but I can tell he is trying to stay calm and casual, like he doesn't actually know that Isobel is my mother. "It's her meds, they make her _loopy_."

That sentence snaps me out of my head and I turn to face Damon who looks at me with a smile before winking. I blink, once, twice, before turning back to face Isobel who is now stood right in front of me.

"Elena?"

"I'm fine." I push out, my voice croaky and forced.

"Are you sure?"

I nod my head, not trusting my voice to speak again and clench my jaw slightly. This is too much.

This is too soon.

"I uh…I can't." my eyes sting with tears and I turn to look at Damon with panic. "_Damon_."

He immediately nods his head and turns his head to face Isobel. "Mind if we take a breather? She left her painkillers in the car." The lie rolls off his tongue easily.

"Oh…of course." I can hear the worry in her voice and I immediately push myself to my feet, my arms slipping back inside my crutches and make my way out without another word, hearing Damon pack my things and explaining something to Isobel but all I can focus on is getting the hell out of here.

I hobble down the almost empty hallway; most students' already in class and the second I get outside I choke on a sob and struggle to breathe as a cry escapes my lips. My eyes lose focus as they are over filled with tears and the bright morning sun shines in them, making them sting even more.

I hear the door open and close behind me and I don't have to turn around when I feel two strong arms wrap around my waist from behind to know who it is.

"Sssh, it's ok baby, it's ok." Damon whispers soothingly into my ear.

"I couldn't even last five minutes, Damon!" I get out between my cries and Damon lets go of my waist to walk around me so he is standing in front of me, he bends down slightly and places his hands on either side of my face.

"It doesn't matter." He wipes the tears that fall from my eyes as I continue to weep like a broken mess. "Hey, listen to me." He places his finger under my chin, lifting my head to face him and I look into his soft icy blue eyes and my heart pounds for a moment just like it always does when I look into them. "What happened in there, you handled it better than I ever would have been able too. Maybe Caroline was right, maybe we should have thought of a plan first but it doesn't matter, ok? I love you." He strokes my cheeks soothingly. "And Jenna and Jeremy, they love you; your friends love you, that's all that matters, Elena."

I nod my head and sniffle, "I'm sorry for being such a mess." I wipe at my eyes, rubbing the tears from my lashes.

"Don't be silly," he shakes his head at me before pressing a soft kiss to my lips. "What do you want to do? We can go home?"

"No," I shake my head. "We've missed so much already, give me a moment to go to the bathroom to freshen up and we'll go back."

"What? You want to go back to Biology?" he looks surprised.

"I need to; I'm not going to break again. It may be too much, but I have to do it sometime, right?"

"But now?" he asks uncertainly. "Why don't we just skip Biology? Honestly, Elena, I don't think you're ready." He runs his thumb along my cheekbone.

"I'll never be ready, Damon." I admit. "But the longer I leave this, the harder it's going to be."

"Ok then." He smiles softly at me before running his hands down my arms. "Whenever you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

Biology, as painful as it was, went better than to be expected, especially after the bad start Elena had. I know that she found it tough, and many times I looked over to see her that her mind was somewhere else completely but she got through it and that hardest part is over with for now.

We both know that the real difficult part however is going to be when Elena is ready to confess to Isobel that she knows the truth about who she really is and why she came to Mystic Falls. But that problem is for another day.

The rest of the school day went by slowly, I ignored all the gossip, the stares and the whispers but I know that Elena was finding it more difficult than I was, luckily however she never spent a part of the day on her own, if I couldn't be with her then I knew that Bonnie or Caroline were at her side, even Matt, who didn't even know about Isobel, was keen to help cheer Elena up.

I let out a sigh of relief when the bell rings signalling the end of the day and I leave my class as quickly as I can with the dull pain in my head and the aching of my ribs. It's been a long one, and my medication does make me tire more easily.

I find Elena stood by her locker with Bonnie and the second I get there I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her slowly on the mouth.

"Mmm." Elena pulls away with a smile. "What was that for?"

"I just thought you looked beautiful and wanted to kiss you." I compliment her with a smile and watch as a blush crosses her cheeks. I don't know why she gets so shy and embarrassed when I compliment her, surely she knows how stunning she is?

"Man Lena, I wish I had a man who'd shower me with compliments all the time." Bonnie interrupts with a teasing smile and I roll my eyes. "It sucks being single."

"Quit the pity party, witchy! Makes you look desperate."

"Damon!" Elena scolds me but Bonnie doesn't seem offended.

"What? I'm just saying if she really wanted a boyfriend I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult! Quit whining and get yourself out there."

"Ignore him, Bon." Elena hits my shin with the bottom of her crutch and I wince slightly at the sting. "He just doesn't like it when people see how sweet and mushy he secretly is, it ruins his bad boy image."

"It's not an image, honey." I mockingly pinch her cheek and she swots my hand away.

"You're both too cute." Bonnie smirks and I groan loudly.

"Cute? Seriously? _Elena_ is cute, I am _not_ cute!" I scoff.

"Aww, my baby! Such a cutie." Elena now goes to pinch my cheek and for a second I let her before squirming out of her grip.

"Watch it you!" I send her a mocking glare as Elena hands me her bag with a giggle and we start to walk through the hallway towards the exit.

"Elena!"

We all freeze and turn around to see Isobel walking down the hallway towards us, Jesus Christ, this is not good.

I glance at Elena whose face turns ten shades paler than it was before and I immediately wrap my arm around her waist and squeeze her hip.

"Hi," she smiles at us once she reaches and I notice Elena gulp slightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Um…fine." Elena stutters out, her voice shaky and I hate that she's come over because she'd finally gotten her mind off this whole adoption thing after the day she has had.

"Sorry but we gotta go, we're in a hurry and we don't have time to stand around and chit chat Miss Flemming." I cut in, not even caring that my tone is harsh and Isobel looks at me with a frown for a moment before speaking.

"I won't keep you long, I just wanted to give you this." She hands an envelope over to Elena and I watch as she just stares at it. "Take it," Isobel smiles slightly when Elena doesn't respond. "It's yours."

"What is it?" I ask skeptically as Elena slowly takes the envelope with shaky hands.

"It's a letter from Columbia College."

"And why the hell do _you_ have it?" I frown at her.

"What is with the twenty questions Mr Salvatore? I don't appreciate your tone, we are still in school remember." She scolds me and I roll my eyes and I watch as she looks back at Elena. "The principle received it this morning, I was meant to give you it in class since I had your first period but it slipped my mind."

"Oh, thank you." Elena finally speaks up.

"You're welcome." She smiles and I watch with wide eyes as her hand reaches out and touches Elena's arm. "I hope it's good news."

I feel Elena's entire body tense and I squeeze her hip again before motioning us to take a step back, Isobel's hand falling from Elena's arm.

"I'll let you go then," Isobel coughs slightly awkwardly and takes a step back. "See you all tomorrow." She turns around and leaves and we stand still in the hallway watching her go.

I let out a sigh of relief when she turns the corner and turn to Elena who is just staring down the corridor.

"Hey." I remove my hand from her hip to push some hair from her face. "Let's go home?"

She nods slowly and gulps, Bonnie eyeing her sadly for a moment before offering us a ride.

* * *

"Are you going to open it yet?" Damon asks impatiently as we lie flat on my bed, my head resting on his shoulder while his arm is wrapped around my waist, stroking the skin between my tank top and jeans.

I hold the envelope that Isobel gave me in my spare hand, which has remained unopened since school finished an hour ago.

"I don't want to," I admit nervously. "What if it's bad news?"

"It won't be." Damon tells me reassuringly. "You're practically a genius, what college wouldn't want you? You're amazing."

"I don't think the dean would share your opinion just from seeing my name on a piece of paper."

"No, but I'm sure he would from reading your application form, just open it, Elena, I don't think I can wait any longer!"

"Fine." I roll my eyes giving in and we both sit up on the bed, I notice my hands are shaking as I tear open the top and I gulp slightly as I unfold the piece of paper. "Damon I don't think I can…can you?" I shove the sheet in his lap.

"Elena-"

"_Please_."

"Ok." He sighs and finishes unfolding the letter and I watch him anxiously as he starts reading, trying to take in his facial expression but it remains neutral as I watch as time goes slowly as his eyes scan the page.

"Well?" I ask impatiently and he finally looks back to me. "It's bad news isn't it?"

He sighs sadly and nods his head and I feel a sickly feeling in my stomach. I _really_ wanted to get in there.

Just another bad thing to add to this very shitty month.

"It's bad news." Damon speaks up, confirming my thoughts. "Because you're going to have to pack up your entire closet and then buy another new wardrobe if you want to keep up with the fashion in New York."

I snap my head towards him and notice the sneaky smile crossing his lips. "What?"

"You got in!"

"I got in?"

"Yes!" he shows me the letter and I scan the part that says I was accepted and I look back up at Damon happily.

"Oh my god!" I practically jump on him as I pull him in for a hug and he squeezes me tightly, kissing my cheek repeatedly.

"I'm so proud of you, Elena." He says into my ear and I slowly pull him away before punching him in the shoulder. "Ouy!" he lets go of me to rub his arm. "What was that for?"

"For making me think I didn't get in, jackass!"

He chuckles and I can't help the laugh that falls from my lips. "Oh my god, I'm moving to New York."

"You are." Damon smiles at me and I look back over at him.

"Now we just need to hear back from NYU and everything will be on track."

I watch as his smile falters slightly and he nods his head. "Sure."

"Damon," I frown at him. "You're going to get in." I tell him firmly and he just shrugs.

"Come on, this isn't about me." He kisses my forehead quickly before climbing off the bed. "Let's go tell your Aunt Jenna your amazing news, she will be so happy."

"Ok." I give in because I am anxious to let Jenna know about this, but that doesn't mean that I've forgotten about Damon's skepticism about getting into his college.

I hobble down the stairs, Damon walking slowly behind me and head towards the kitchen after hearing voices. Damon I hold the letter in my hand as I use Damon's arm for support, leaving my crutches upstairs but we both immediately come to a halt when we see that it wasn't just Jenna and Alaric's voices we could hear.

"Elena, Damon." Sheriff Forbes puts down her mug that she is drinking from and turns to face us.

"Sheriff," Damon says with skepticism. "Social visit?"

"Not exactly." She smiles a little. "I have some news."

"Good news? Or bad?" I ask nervously because this entire day seems to be about _news_.

"Well, that kind of depends."

"On what?" Damon pushes her to just tell us.

"We found Klaus." I let out a sigh of relief and turn my head to face Damon who is frowning.

"But?" he pushes, and I frown not understanding why he doesn't seem happy about this but when I look back at Liz and see the look on her face I can see why he is hesitant.

"Well, the good news is that he's in police custody and has been arrested and he will be formally charged by the end of the week."

"That's good, right?" I ask nervously and she nods her head.

"What about Kol?" Damon asks impatiently. "He's the one who killed Katherine, where the hell is he?"

"Well…when we found Klaus…we also found a body." My eyes widen at her words and I notice Damon freeze beside me as she continues. "A family member identified it earlier on this evening and it was confirmed to be Kol Mikaelson."

"Oh my god." I breathe out in shock. "Was it Klaus?"

"We believe so." Liz nods her head and looks back at my boyfriend. "Klaus will be charged immediately with manslaughter as well as his previous charges of his assaults and kidnapping towards you and Elena."

"Manslaughter? What about murder?" Damon sounds angry. "Surely if it was him who killed Kol…"

"Well there is some evidence that shows that there seems to have been som kind of a struggle, and Klaus is claiming it was self-defense."

Damon scoffs and shakes his head. "Bullshit, we were there, we saw how angry Klaus was when he found out the truth about Kol shooting Kat, there is no way it was self-defense."

"Well Damon, that's up to a judge and jury to decide. No matter what though, Klaus will be going to prison for a very very long time." She smiles softly at him and Damon slowly nods his head and I watch as all of the tension finally leaves his body. "I better get going, thanks for the coffee, Jenna, have a nice evening." She says her goodbyes and I watch as Alaric walks her out before returning.

"How are you feeling?" Jenna asks me concerned.

I shrug. "I'm just glad that he's been caught…I mean…Kol is dead…that's a shocker but…I'm not going to lie and say that I'm sad about it." I admit honestly. How can I be sad? This guy killed a girl in cold blood then was happy to let everyone think it was his brother, before letting Damon get the blame. He tortured him, and me, and didn't show any guilt for any of it.

"Good, because the bastard deserves to rot in hell." Damon mutters coldly and I reach out and take his hand in mine.

"Hey, it's over now. You're finally free of that horrible family." I tell him reassuringly and he lets out a sigh before squeezing my hand. "Actually, I have some more news." I turn back to Jenna just as Alaric renters the kitchen.

"Oh yeah?" she asks suspiciously at the creeping smile on my face. "What kind of news?"

"I got into Columbia!" I break out with a squeal and watch amused as Jenna gasps before screaming with excitement and immediately wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Oh my god! I'm so proud of you, Elena! This is amazing!" she pulls away and Ric comes over and hugs me too.

"Well done, Elena, you deserve it." He smiles softly at me and I beam.

"Thank you."

"Pressure is all on you now, Salvatore!" Alaric teases Damon and I watch as he lets out a small laugh and shrugs.

"I like a little pressure." He shrugs.

"He'll be fine." I cut in.

"Well, I think this calls for a celebration!" Jenna interrupts with a massive smile on her face. "Go on, go and get changed we will all go out to that fancy posh restaurant in town, you too Damon! It's on me!"

"Really?" I ask unsure. "Isn't it really expensive?"

"Well it's not every day your niece gets into her dream college! Money is not a problem; go on, go get glammed up!"

"I'll give you a ride home so you can change Damon." Alaric pats my boyfriend on the back and Damon agrees and quickly kisses me before following Alaric out.

* * *

I put on a nice fancy dress and get my hair and make-up done and hobble down the stairs just as the front door bell rings and I watch to see Jenna rushing around the living room looking for her purse as Jeremy looks into the mirror in the hallway struggling with his tie.

"I'll get it then, it's fine, not like I only have one working leg or anything!" I roll my eyes and hop towards the door, swinging it open to see Damon standing there, looking smart in a simple smart black suit with a black tie. "Why hello handsome!" I grin at him and Damon chuckles before stepping forward and kissing me softly on the lips.

"Wow, you look beautiful."

"Thank you," I look down at my dark blue dress that hugs my curves in all of the right places.

He eyes me up and down with a grin that makes me blush before stepping inside and kissing me again. I return it immediately and wrap my arms around his neck, my hands playing with the bottom of his hair as I deepen the kiss.

"Get a room!" Jeremy interrupts in disgust and I groan in annoyance before pulling away.

"You're lucky I love your sister Little Gilbert or I'd be kicking your ass right about now!" Damon calls out to him but I can hear the teasing words behind the words.

"There shall be no ass kicking tonight thank you!" Jenna walks into the hallway before shouting up the stairs. "Ric! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" Alaric jogs down the stairs, his car keys clutched in his hands. "Come on then, let's hit the road!"

The restaurant is as nice as I expected it to be, expensive, but I can see why. The food was delicious, and the desert that Damon and I shared was even better. The champagne flowed easily between us, except for Alaric who was driving, even Jeremy was allowed a glass and by the end of the night I can see that my Aunt Jenna is pretty drunk, especially since once we finished our meals we made our way into the bar section.

"You know Damon, if I was a couple of years younger…" I watch on mortified as Jenna reaches down and squeezes my boyfriend's ass tightly and Damon jerks forward slightly.

"Jenna!" I gasp in shock but Jenna just giggles and waves me off, Damon widens his eyes at me as Jenna pats his chest before rubbing her hand across it, wrapping her other arm around his waist.

"Don't worry, Elena! I'm not going to make a play for him! He's safe, I just think he is extremely _hot_!"

"Thank god." Damon mumbles under his breath but I can see the amusement in his eyes and I laugh when he mouths 'save me' to me.

I hobble over to him on my crutches, unhooking one arm so I can wrap it around Damon's waist and bring him towards me.

"Two beautiful ladies fighting over me, this is my idea of a good time!" he teases and I roll my eyes before leaning up and pecking his lips.

"Behave!"

"Always." He smirks at me just as Alaric pulls up in front of the restaurant after going to get it from its parking space to pick us up; Jeremy already sat in the back after going with him.

"Ric, you need to keep an eye on this one, she wants my body!"

"Sure!" Alaric scoffs as we get into the car, Damon helping me climb into the front seat where it's easier to stretch my leg before getting into the back, sitting next to Jenna.

I look through the mirror and immediately watch as my Aunt embarrassingly drapes herself over Damon and I put my head in my hands in embarrassment.

"Jenna!" Alaric watches through the mirror but I can see he's not mad about it, in fact, he finds it all hilarious. "You are going to regret this tomorrow baby!"

"Sssh, stop interrupting us old man!" she waves her finger at him before turning back to Damon and grabbing his face with her other hand. "Me and my new boyfriend are getting to know each other!"

Damon laughs loudly. "Yeah old man, you just shut up and drive, yeah?"

"Salvatore, you are getting an F on your next paper!"

"Jealousy is a negative unattractive emotion Ric." Damon smirks.

"Yeah, see, he's smart too." Jenna gushes. "You have the whole package!"

"Whoa, hey now!" I look through the side mirror to see Damon move Jenna's hand off his thigh and I let out a loud laugh at the nervous look on his face.

"Oh my god, this is so mortifying." Jeremy watches horrified and I let out a giggle.

"Jeremy, are you embarrassed by me?" Jenna finally detaches herself from my boyfriend and instead turns her attention to my brother. "Because I'll have you know, I used to be cool! When I was your age, I was like the most popular girl in my class!"

Luckily, Jeremy is saved by Alaric pulling up outside our house and I watch as he immediately swings the door open and jumps out. I laugh and open my own door, Damon already there waiting, holding his arm out for me to take and I greet him with a smile.

"Are you sure I'm the Gilbert you want?" I tease him and he rolls his eyes, closing the door behind me and then stopping me from walking by grabbing my hips and pinning himself against me.

"You know you're the only girl for me beautiful." He dips his head down so his lips are millimeters away from my own.

"I better be, Salvatore!" I grin before kissing him slowly, all thoughts of the fact that my family are around being pushed out of my head.

"Uh…Elena." I pull away from Damon in a huff and look over at my brother.

"Seriously, Gilbert? _Again_?" Damon does not look impressed at us being interrupted but when I notice the serious expression on his face I frown at him concerned.

"What is it Jer?"

He motions with his head behind him and that's when I see the lone figure stood on my porch.

Isobel.

My heart starts pounding hard against my chest and I clutch onto Damon's arms because suddenly my knees go weak and he holds onto me even tighter.

"Isobel?" Alaric locks his car and walks towards her, but I remain frozen and I see a now sobered up Jenna looking at me worriedly. "What are you doing here?" he sounds confused and I remember that he doesn't actually know about her being by biological mother.

I watch as Isobel walks down the steps towards me after realizing that I wasn't about to move anytime soon.

"I came to speak to, Elena." She tells him before turning her attention onto me and I notice that her eyes are red and her mascara has been smudged.

Nobody says anything as she gets closer and my heart thuds hard and painfully against my chest as she stops just a couple of feet in front of me.

"John told me you know who I am…" she says with a shaky voice. "I think we should go and talk."

* * *

**Sorry to leave it there! **

**Thanks for all your amazing reviews as always, they really help me keep this story going! Whenever I need motivating, I just go back and read some of your comments and feedback and they mostly get me going again! **

**Thanks for reading :)**

**Until next time! **


	38. Chapter 38

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

* * *

"Are you serious right now?!" Damon snaps at her angrily, breaking the awkward silence that descended upon us as Isobel approached us. "You can't just turn up here this late at night expecting to _talk_! Who the hell do you think you are! Back off, before I make you!"

"This doesn't have anything to do with you, Damon!" Isobel argues back.

"Like hell-"

"Wait, what the hell is going on here?" Ric cuts in looking and sounding confused. "Isobel? What is he talking about?"

I gulp slightly as she looks between us and I feel Damon grip onto my waist tighter.

"Elena." She says my name with desperation. "Please, just hear me out, that's all I ask…I have so many things to tell you, so many things to explain…"

"I don't think now is the best time for that, Isobel." Jenna speaks up and comes to stand beside me. "It's been a long day."

"Please." She looks directly at me and I crush under her gaze because I really don't think that I am ready for this.

"Ok." The word comes out of my mouth before I can stop it and I feel Damon tense beside me.

"Elena…" he turns to face me with a frown. "You don't have too…"

"I know but, she's here now, right?"

"Yeah, nearly 18 years too late!" he scoffs and sends another glare towards Isobel.

"_What_?!" Alaric cuts in again in shock. "No way…are you saying that…no way! _What_?"

"Later Ric." Jeremy pats him on the back and walks inside, motioning for him to follow and I watch as they go inside but Damon and Jenna stay behind.

"Maybe we should go inside?" Jenna suggests after a few awkward seconds of silence and I nod my head slowly before doing so.

We walk into the empty dining room, Alaric and Jeremy moving upstairs when we enter to give us space and I go to sit down but Damon grabs my hand before I can do so.

"Elena, you don't have to do this, not yet." He says quietly so only I can hear him but I shake my head.

"I'm never going to be ready, Damon. I need to do this now."

"I'd prefer it if we did this alone, actually." Isobel interrupts us and Damon swings around to face her with a furious look on his face.

"Oh you have got some nerve!" he hisses at her coldly.

"He's right." Jenna agrees. "You can't just turn up here like this calling all of the shots."

"That wasn't my intention." Isobel sighs and holds up her hands in defence. "But there are some things that I need to talk to Elena about that would be easier if I didn't have an audience."

"Look it's fine, you both can go." I give in with a sigh.

"What? Are you crazy?" Damon looks at me in disbelief. "Elena."

"I'll be fine, Damon." I tell him reassuringly.

"Well that's too bad because I'm not going anywhere." He folds his arms across his chest and stands still stubbornly.

"Oh grow up, Damon." Isobel glares at him.

"Right, yeah, because _I'm_ the immature one here?" he gapes at her. "Bitch." He mutters under his breath but it's loud enough for us all to hear.

"You don't need to speak to me with language like that young man; I'm still your teacher!"

"Does this look like a fucking school to you?!"

"Can we please not do this!" I interrupt in frustration. "Damon, I promise, I'll be fine." I beg him with my eyes and I watch as he clenches his jaw slightly before letting out a sigh and giving in.

"Fine, whatever." He turns around and leaves the room and I that sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach comes back when Jenna leaves too and I'm left alone with Isobel for the first time after knowing the truth.

"He is truly something." Isobel lets out a small laugh and I look up and glare at her as she sits across the table from me.

"You didn't need to rile him up like that."

"Hey, I'm not saying it as a bad thing, it's kinda nice that you have someone like him who loves so much to be so protective." She smiles softly and I gulp slightly and look away.

"Well, you didn't come here to talk about Damon…"

"Yeah." She links her hands together. "I noticed that you were being a little…_off_ with me at school today, and Damon seemed to have more attitude than usual, plus I had your brother fourth period and he was sending me death glares throughout the entire class." She smiles slightly but I don't return it. "I got worried that you had found out about me, so I went to confront John about it and my suspicions were confirmed."

I shrug slightly and link my shaking fingers together but freeze when I realise that I am matching her stance and immediately pull my hands apart.

"Why'd you come here?"

"To explain."

"No, I mean, why did you come to Mystic Falls? You've been here for months now and you never said a word, were you ever going to tell me?"

"Eventually, yes." She sounds sad but I can't think too much into it. "Honestly, I've been wanting to tell you from the moment I got here, but I kept putting it off and things were happening in your life and I didn't want to add to your stress. But after what happened the other week with Klaus, I knew that I couldn't let you slip away from me again."

I frown confused. "But you _didn't_ tell me, I figured it out for myself."

"I know but I was going to tell you, that's why I came to the hospital that day but you were leaving and John was there and he didn't want you to find out."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." She shrugs slightly. "We don't exactly have the best of relationships, he blames me for this entire mess and ok yes, most of it is my fault, but it takes two." She leans across and goes to take my hand but I immediately flinch away and I watch as she looks down at my hands sadly for a moment before pulling her own back. "Look, I can sit here all night and apologise to you, because I am sincerely sorry, Elena, words cannot describe how much I regret what I did all those years ago, but it's done, I can't go back and change that. I'd like us to move on from this."

"Move on?" I ask her in disbelief. "You haven't even given me any kind of explanation to move on from! Why did you give me up?"

"I was so young, Elena, I was younger than you are now when I got pregnant and my parents, they are so religious, I couldn't tell them."

"So what? You hid it from them that you were pregnant for _nine_ months?!" I ask in incredulity.

"I luckily didn't show a lot, and they were used to me wearing baggy sweaters around the house so they didn't question anything, they just thought that I had gained a few pounds." She admits. "But then I was staying at my best friend's house who was the only one who knew I was pregnant and I went into labour. I freaked out, because I wasn't ready and my parents were still completely oblivious to it and she took me to the hospital, luckily I was 18 by then so classed as an adult so they never informed my parents. I was in labour with you for three hours, and it was so hard but I got through it and when you arrived, you were so tiny…" I look up to see that she has tears in her eyes. "I loved you immediately, the second they put you in my arms I knew that I only wanted you to get the best in life, and since I had no money and my parents would cut me off for sure when they found out, I knew that I wouldn't be able to give you the life that you deserve. So a few days after you were born, my friend drove me here to Mystic Falls to find John, and instead we found your…well…your parents." She gulps slightly. "Miranda and Grayson, they took me into their home when I was a blubbering mess, I was still so hormonal and I could barely get my words out without crying, but eventually I got through to them that the baby…_you_…were John's and that I couldn't look after you."

I watch her with shaky hands as she wipes a tear from her eyes and I gulp slightly as she continues.

"They were so sweet and kind to me, and…I did something horrible. I left you with them, I said that I needed to go to the bathroom but…I left…I left and I never went back." A sob escapes her lips and I sit still, completely frozen.

"I'm sorry, Elena." She looks up at me, her dark brown eyes watering with tears as her mascara runs down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

"I…I can't." I stutter out. "I can't deal with this right now, this is too much."

"I know, I'm sorry. But you have to understand, that I love you, that you're my daughter and all I have ever wanted for the last eighteen years was to be reunited with you."

"You say that but…you waited nearly eighteen years! My parents died! They _died_ and you still stayed away! I had an aunt who had to come and look after me, an aunt who as much as she loved us, had no clue how to take care of herself never mind two kids! Where were you then? You say you love me but…I don't believe you."

"Elena-"

"No!" I cut her off holding out my hand, my voice cold and firm. "I think you should leave."

"Please, I still have so many things I need to tell you."

"But I don't want to hear it! Because the fact is, if Damon and I didn't figure this out, I don't think you ever would have told me who you really are. Honestly, I think you're a coward, you were back then and you still are now. You came here, into my town, bursting into my life, pretending to be just a normal teacher to try and get to know me? If you wanted to know me that bad, you wouldn't have been so secretive and sneaky about it! You would have been honest with me from the get go, and you know what, I would have been hurt, and shocked, but at least I would have understood. What I can't understand is how you sat in front of me, hiding behind a desk, for _three months_ acting like I was just another student to you, that I wasn't your daughter! I've been calling you Miss Flemming for Christ's sake! You're my mother and I had to address you like that?!"

"I only did that because I wanted to get to know you before deciding if you needed me in your life. I didn't just want to barge in and disrupt you so much, I just wanted to see you…to interact with you!" her voice sounds desperate but I don't care.

I can't.

"Oh so you thought that you'd watch me? Spy on me? See if I was worthy of being in your life?"

"No, to see if I was worthy of being in yours!"

"And what did you think? Poor little Orphan Elena Gilbert, who just so happens to not actually be an orphan at all, look, here's a brand new Mommy for you!"

"It wasn't like that." She defends herself.

"I don't care. Please just go…I can't…I can't do this."

"Elena, please."

"I need some time and space to think things through! This is all too much! You were just my science teacher a week ago!"

"Ok," she sighs giving in and slowly standing up. "But I'm not going to give up on you, Elena, I want to be a part of your life, and I'm so sorry that it took me this long, and that you had to find out the way you did, but I mean what I say when I say that I'm sorry and that I love you."

"Just leave, please." I sound as defeated as she looks and I watch as she leaves the room and hear the front door slam shut.

I wipe at my stinging eyes and sit staring at the seat that she just vacated.

My _mother_.

* * *

The second I get upstairs Jenna pulls me into Jeremy's bedroom where he and Alaric are hiding out and I turn around in frustration as she closes the door behind us.

"Are we seriously leaving her alone down there?!" I ask her in disbelief.

"She needs to this Damon."

"She's not ready!" I argue, because it's the truth. She may try to put on a front and be strong, but I know her, this whole thing isn't real for her yet, and I know that talking to Isobel before she's ready is going to be a mistake.

"I don't think she'll ever be ready." Jeremy cuts in with his say.

"And I don't think that you sniping at Isobel the way you did down there was making Elena feel any better. I know that you love her and want to protect her but there are some things that people just need to do on their own." Jenna offers.

"But on _her_ terms." I try to get my point across. "She needs to do this when it's the right time for her, not Isobel! I just don't like the way she came over and expected to talk. Elena has had such a good evening, it's the first time I've seen her smile properly for longer than ten minutes since she found out she was adopted, she just got into her dream school, and now the whole night has been ruined because that bitch decided to eventually take an interest in Elena's life, well I'm sorry but she's 18 years too late."

"Maybe Elena wants to get to know Isobel?" Alaric decides to put in his two cents worth. "Maybe Isobel coming here was a good thing."

"You're missing my point!" I rant in frustration, starting to get really frustrated that nobody else seems to see how much of a bad idea leaving Elena down there alone is. She has so much going on in her head at the moment, and I'm afraid that this is just going to be too much. How can she take in anything that Isobel says to her and actually process the information if her head is already reeling?

"No I get it, Damon I do, I just think that maybe you should hold back with your comments, be the bigger person in all of this." Jenna reaches out and rubs my arm and I let out a sigh before nodding my head.

"Ok fine, I promise to keep all snarky comments to an absolute minimum." I huff but knowing she has a point. I guess it doesn't actually help Elena if I keep adding fuel to the fire. I need to keep my temper and patience in check, and just be there for her.

We sit in a tense silence for a while, Jeremy switching on his TV to distract us but no one is paying attention, it's clear that everyone is thinking about what is going on and being said downstairs. The fact that we are crammed in this bedroom too makes it worse and I decide to excuse myself and walk through the shared bathroom into Elena's bedroom.

I walk towards her bed and pick up the acceptance letter from Columbia, reading with a small smile on my face at the words that told my girlfriend she will be going to the college she has always wanted to go to since she was just a little girl.

I think back to how happy she was tonight, talking in the restaurant with Jenna about all the places in New York they were going to go together when she came to visit, places like the statue of liberty, the empire state building and how she was going to be able to visit Central Park whenever she wanted.

She made all these plans, plans for us to do _together_ and I tried to be optimistic, I did, and I think it worked, but deep down I know it's just a dream.

Elena is smart, like proper for real academically _smart_ and I've spent the last four years of my life screwing myself over by skipping class and handing assignments that I barely put any effort into.

What college would want me? Why would NYU want someone who had to repeat their entire senior year because he couldn't even finish it the first time around? Sure, my grades have been better this year and my test scores have always been pretty high, I work well under pressure, and Alaric did write me a great reference but that doesn't rule out all my faults, all my mistakes that I have made and now I feel like my past behaviour is coming back to bite me in the ass and messing with Elena yet again.

I sigh and put the letter back on the bed; maybe if I can't get into a college I could move to New York anyway and get a job? At least then I'd still be with Elena, sure, it would be tough but it's a big city with lots of opportunities, right?

"What are you brooding about?"

I turn around to see Alaric stood in Elena's doorway, a small smile on his face as he takes his weight from the doorway and walks towards me, eying the letter on the bed.

"Ah, you're scared." He smirks at me and I scowl.

"_No_." I scoff at him. "I'm not scared."

"You don't have to pretend with me," his face turns serious. "I know you're scared that you're not going to get into NYU but Elena is right, you'll be fine." He picks up the letter. "See this; this is your future, yours and Elena's. You both…you especially, have been through so much, you deserve this Damon and I'm sure you're going to get your own acceptance letter coming to you in the post very soon."

"I doubt that," I roll my eyes keeping my tone casual and uncaring. "It's cool though, as long as Elena is happy I am happy." And that is the truth.

He shakes his head at me and smiles slowly, his hand reaching out and patting me on the side of my shoulder. "You'll see what we see soon enough."

We're interrupted by the sound of the front door closing and I immediately snap my head in the direction of the hallway, look briefly again at Ric before practically running out of the room and down the stairs.

I freeze the second I appear in the dining room and see Elena sat at the table with her head in her hands. "Elena."

Her head shoots up and my heart breaks at the tears streaming down her face and I cross the room in a second, immediately wrapping my arms around her tightly and pulling her against me, her head leaning into my shoulder as her shaky hands cling tightly onto my shirt, the white fabric clenched in her balled up fists.

"I'm sorry," she cries into my shoulder, pulling away and letting out a small shaky cry. "I feel like all I've done is cry lately and bring you down."

"Don't be so stupid." I shake my head in disbelief and place my hands on each side of her face. "You could never bring me down, don't say crap like that to me again, ok?" She sniffles and nods her head slowly and I lean forward and kiss her softly on the lips. "How did it go?"

"Can I tell you tomorrow? I'm tired and just want to go to bed."

"Yeah of course." I kiss her forehead just as Jenna and Alaric walk inside.

"You ok sweetie?" Jenna asks tenderly and Elena nods her head before slowly standing up.

"Yeah. I'm just going to call it a night though," I stand up with her and she loops her arm through mine, using me as her human crutch. "Would it be ok if Damon stayed over?" she asks hesitantly and I look at Jenna who glances at Alaric for a brief second before nodding her head.

"Sure."

"Thanks." Elena smiles a little and we walk out into the hallway and up the stairs.

"No funny business though!" I hear Jenna call after us and we both let out a small laugh and Elena shouts down her promise.

Elena surprisingly falls asleep not long after getting into bed and I'm guessing that just after the day she has had she is just exhausted.

I think back to this morning, when she didn't know about Columbia, or Klaus and Kol and Isobel knowing that Elena knows. It seems like days ago, not hours.

I kiss her forehead and push some hair from her face as I wrap my arms tighter around her, her head lying in the gap beside my neck as she shifts slightly in her sleep to tangle her legs in my own.

"I love you." I whisper into her ear, just because I need to say, I want to say it and I can say it and I never ever want that to change.

* * *

"Ok, I need a favor!"

I look up from my drink where I'm sat in a booth in The Grill after school to see Caroline slide in across from me. "Hi Care…"

She waves me up. "Listen, we need to make this quick before Damon comes back." I frown and turn my head to see where Damon is walking towards the bathroom and turn back to Caroline.

"Ok…?"

"I'm just going to say it." She speaks fast. "I like Tyler Lockwood."

"What?!" I almost choke on my drink and look at her in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

She nods her head furiously. "So serious, and I hate that I like him because he is just so infuriating! But we got close recently and then after everything that happened recently it made me realize that I actually really like him."

"When the hell did this happen?" I ask still in shock. "I didn't even know the two of you were friends!"

"Well you've been a bit preoccupied lately, besides, you're always busy with Damon so I never got the chance to tell you. This is top secret information, Elena, you can't tell him or anyone else about this."

I blink still surprised before slowly nodding my head. "Okay…so what exactly do you need me to do?" I ask confused.

"I need you to set us up on a double date." She tells me and I let out a dry laugh and shake my head. Damon would never ever want to go on a double date, especially with Caroline. "But it needs to be…not a date."

"What?" I ask confused.

"Tyler can't know it's a date."

"But doesn't that defeat the point…" I ask bewildered.

"No." Caroline shakes her head. "I want him to spend more time with me, because although we've been hanging out a lot lately, it's always been as friend or with other people, so I figured if we hang out together with another couple…and since Damon and Tyler are friends anyway…"

"I don't know Caroline…"

"Please Elena! I really really like him." Her face looks desperate and I let out a loud sigh before slowly nodding my head.

"Ok, fine." I give in and she squeals.

"Ah thank you! You're the best!"

"But how the hell are we going to do this exactly?"

"Damon's coming back, just follow my lead!" she says just as Damon arrives.

"Great, who invited you?" Damon rolls his eye teasingly as he slides in next to me and kisses my cheek.

"Shut up Salvatore!" Caroline bites back immediately. "Elena and I were just discussing our plans for this weekend."

"Oh yeah?" Damon asks as he takes a sip from his drink and wraps his arm around my shoulder. "What kind of plans?"

"We were thinking of going back to the lake house tomorrow after school." I snap my head back to Caroline and she widens her eyes at me for a second to go along with her. "Elena has had a pretty shitty week, but since she got into Columbia, I thought we could celebrate."

Damon turns his head to face me. "Well, it's up to you." He shrugs but I'm not sure about this idea, the last time we went to my family's lake house Damon didn't exactly have a good start.

"And don't worry about Stefan." Caroline interrupts almost as if she read my mind. "He's not invited, just me, Elena, and Bonnie, and you, obviously because Elena doesn't go anywhere without you these days."

I scowl at her a little, not sure if that was a dig at me or not.

"So you want me to crash a girl's weekend at a cabin in the middle of nowhere? What the hell am I supposed to do when you are gossiping and trying on clothes or whatever the hell you ladies get up too when we're not around."

"Well…you could always bring Tyler?" I suggest and then smile at the beam of pride that crosses Caroline's face at my suggestion.

Yes, apparently I am a little good at this, sorta.

"Yeah!" Caroline jumps in. "Bring Tyler and you two can go off and do guy stuff while we do what us ladies do."

"I don't know…maybe the three of you should just go." He looks at me and I glance at Caroline who is widening her eyes at me to try and change his mind and I turn back to Damon and pout.

"But I don't want to spend a whole weekend away from you." I stick out my bottom lip and lift my hand to press against his cheek. "Please come."

He looks into my eyes and for a moment I get lost in his own icy blue ones, forgetting what I was even doing but we snap out of our trance when Damon lets out a big sigh and shakes his head.

"Fine sure." He turns away from me and takes a gulp from his drink. "But it better be fun."

"It will be!" Caroline nods her head eagerly. "I'll leave you both too it, see ya!" she leaves just as quickly as she arrived and Damon shakes his head in amazement.

"How did I manage to get myself roped into this?"

"Because you love me." I grin and kiss him quickly. "Now go on, text or call Tyler or something, bring him along with us, you never know it could actually be fun."

I watch eagerly as he sends out a text and when Tyler confirms that he will indeed come too, I send a sneaky text to Caroline to let her know that this little play was a success.

* * *

"Jesus is he calling you again?" I take Elena's phone from her hand and look at the name 'John' flashing up on the screen and accept the call before she even gets the chance to argue and take the phone back from me. "Hey, what part of space do you not understand? Stop bothering her!" I snap down the phone angrily before hanging up.

"Damon! You didn't have to do that." Elena takes her phone back from me and I roll my eyes.

"Why not? He's been calling you almost every hour of the day since Isobel came to see you last night! You told them both you needed time to think things through, and even she has managed to keep her distance from you today at school and not bother you, but yet again John doesn't listen to you and I'm getting sick of it, how about he treats you with the respect that you deserve for once?"

"He's relentless, he always has been even before all of this drama, it's annoying I know, but I've been doing a pretty good job at ignoring him so far. My phone is on silent, let's just put it out the way and watch the rest of this movie." She opens up the draw beside her bed and slips her cell inside before closing it and rolling back to me.

I sigh and wrap my hand around her waist as Elena turns her attention back to whatever chick flick she has put on but honestly I can't focus, I lean my head down and press a kiss to her neck before sucking and nibbling on the skin.

"Damon…" she moans slightly as I continue to kiss her neck and she lifts her hand up and tangles it in my hair.

I pull away and trail kisses down to her collarbone before climbing on top of her and pressing my body against hers, being careful not to be too forceful or lean my weight on her injured leg. I start to kiss further down her chest and slip my hand underneath her tank top and Elena gasps and pants breathlessly.

"Damon we can't." I lift my head up and pull myself up so my lips are milometers from hers.

"Why not?" I press my mouth against hers in a searing kiss, my tongue slipping inside her mouth, deepening it as she wraps her hands tightly around me, her hands gripping onto my t-shirt on my back.

She pulls her head back, so I use it as an excuse to start kissing her neck again but she grabs my head with her hands and pulls me away from her.

"What?" I ask breathlessly.

"We can't, it's too soon." She's just as breathless as I am and her lips are swollen and red from her smudged lipstick.

"I feel fine, my ribs barely even hurt anymore." I try to kiss her again but she pushes me away and I roll back onto my side with a loud annoyed groan.

"Dr Fell said a week of bed rest, and it's only been four days."

"So? What's three days?" When she stubbornly looks at me I sigh in frustration. "Elena, baby, it's been far too long…I want you…I _need_ you."

"And you'll have me." She leans forward and kisses me teasingly on the mouth before pulling away with a smirk and gleaming eyes. "In three days."

"It's times like these when I really don't appreciate your tough lovin baby." I flick her nose with my finger and she scrunches her eyes together a little with a smile.

We lie in a comfortable silence for a little while, arms wrapped around each other, hands casually stroking skin, just enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet when Elena eventually speaks up again.

"You know…we never did ask _that_ question." She says while pulling out of my grasp to sit up and I reluctantly follow her lead, both of us resting our backs against her headrest.

"What question?" I ask confused. She looks nervous for a second and I frown a little before taking her hand in mine. "What question, Elena?"

"The how many people have you slept with question." She eventually gets out and my eyes widen in surprise because I wasn't expecting it to be _that_.

"Oh."

"Well?" she shifts slightly so her top half is facing me. "You know mine."

"I do?"

"Yeah! Two people."

"Matt and Stefan?" I ask confused, assuming she's not counting me in this.

"No!" she looks offended for a little second before continuing. "You and Stefan!"

"What? You and Matt never…"

"No! I was like, I was barely 14 when I started dating him and we broke up when I was 15, I mean, we _could_ have, but I didn't want to, we were just kids, and I knew that."

"So you're telling me that you lost your virginity to my _brother_?" I ask with a cringe, because this just got weird.

"I thought you knew that!"

"Nope. I didn't!"

She squeezes my hand tightly. "It doesn't mean anything." She says in a softer tone and I think back to when I lost my virginity, I was 15 and drunk at a party and slept with a cheerleader who was older than me who I barely spoke to again, because _that_ didn't mean anything.

"So…now you know mine, tell me yours." She tries to sound casual but I can hear the anxiousness in her tone and I shrug.

"Uh…" I try to think back to every girl that I've slept with, every one night stand that I've had since I was 15.

"Jesus, is it _that_ many?" Elena asks in disbelief.

"No!" I defend myself immediately but then I think, and I guess compared to Elena's number of two, it is a lot. "Well…I mean…" I trail awkwardly. "You don't have to know, why would you even want to know?"

"Because I'm curious." Elena replies "I want to know, Damon. Tell me."

"Fine, fourteen I think." I answer hesitantly and watch as Elena's eyes widen.

"You think?!"

"Well…there was the summer after Katherine died where I spent most nights completely wasted and I don't remember much, but sometimes I woke up…well…not alone and honestly, most of the time I only did it so I had a place to stay at night." I admit uneasily. "It's not something I'm exactly proud of."

"Ok," she runs her fingers along my palm. "Let's exclude those times, how many before that summer?"

"Nine." I answer honestly. "But they didn't mean anything, they were all just…to put it bluntly, quick fucks and a bit of fun, there was never any feelings involved."

Elena turns her head away for a moment and stares out of her window. "Nine is still a lot of people considering how young you are…"

"Do you wanna know how many people I've made love too?" I kiss her shoulder slowly and she gradually turns back to face me and slowly nods her head.

"One." I tell her honestly while placing my hand on her face, my thumb stroking her cheek softly. "Just _one_."

She smiles a little before a small crease crosses her eyebrows. "What about Katherine?"

I let out a laugh at the thought of Katherine making love to anyone. "You never met her, did you?" I ask amused and Elena frowns but shakes her head. "Trust me; she wasn't that kind of girl, even when we were dating. So…is that all you want to know?"

"I guess so." She nods her head. "I just thought…this is a thing people should know, right? I didn't mean anything by it…I was just curious."

"I know." I dip my head down and kiss her softly. "And I'm glad I know now, that we both know." I push some hair out of her face and kiss her again. "You know…you are the best I've ever had." I smirk at her jokingly and she laughs and pushes my head away.

"I better be!"

"Aren't I yours?" I ask with a small pout and watch as she presses her finger against her lips and lets out a 'hmm' sound. "Elena!" I tackle her down onto the bed and tickle her sides. "Answer me!"

"Stop!" she squeals out in between giggles but I keep attacking her sides with my fingers as she squirms underneath me. "Ok, Ok! You are!"

"I'm what?" I freeze my hands.

"You _know_ what." She rolls her eyes at me and when I tickle her again she grabs a hold of my hands and pants with a smile. "Fine, I'll say it!" she pins my hands away from her to stop them attacking her sides again and rolls her eyes. "You're the best I've ever had, Damon Salvatore. Happy now?"

"Absolutely." I grin and lean down and kiss her softly. "Love you." I whisper against her lips once I pull away.

"I love you." She answers back softly before letting out a smile and kissing me again.

* * *

**So I decided not to leave it on a cliffhanger for once!**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks again to all you awesome people who left me a review! For this chapter I plan to respond to you all personally as a thank you! :) **

**Thanks again for reading!**

**Until next time! **


	39. Chapter 39

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries**.

**Over 600 reviews WOW WOW WOW thank you so much to every one of you who took the time to let me know your thoughts and feedback, it really does mean a lot and you are all the reason why this story can keep going! THANK YOU! :) **

**Apologies for how long it has took me to update this chapter, and will most likely take a bit longer to update the next couple as last week I stupidly broke my arm, my right one too and I'm right handed! Which means that I'm in a big itchy horrible cast, and I'm sure if you've ever had one before you know how frustrating and it annoying it is, especially since you can only type with one hand, which is why it has took me so long to finish the chapter because I kept on losing patience with myself, try typing with your wrong hand as well as working the mousepad, it's ridiculous! **

**I'm having the cast off (hopefully) in 5 weeks, the doctor said 6 and I've had it for just over a week so fingers crossed it'll not be any longer and then I can get back to writing properly and updating this story as often as I used too, I hope you all understand :) **

* * *

"Have a nice weekend, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Jenna stands at the top of the porch as we finish packing up Caroline's car with my stuff to take down to the lake house for the weekend.

"I don't think that leaves much, Aunt Jenna." I grin at her teasingly and she lets out a mocking horrified gasp before shrugging.

"I'd be offended but I guess it is kinda true!"

"Come on, we gotta go!" Caroline practically pushes me into the car and I take a seat into the passenger seat beside her. "So, we'll pick up Damon and then go for Tyler." She says while pulling away. "And you have to make sure you sit in the back with Damon so Ty can sit up here with me so we can do some road trip bonding."

"I know Care, you've told me this ten times already." I laugh at her anxiousness because I haven't seen Caroline this nervous in a long time. "But what if they ask why Bonnie isn't here?"

"Say she's sick or something." Caroline waves me off. "Their boys, they'll buy it."

"Ok." I sigh with a smile, still finding this whole thing a bit ridiculous. I don't understand why Caroline won't just ask Tyler on a date? She said herself that they have gotten close lately, so what's the problem? "So…are there any code words I need to learn for this weekend or something?"

"Code words?"

"Yeah, like if you want us to leave you and Tyler alone or something?" I tease. "What about…_pepper_."

"Pepper?" Caroline turns her head briefly to face me with a look that shows that she is not at all impressed by my suggestion. "What kind of code word is _pepper_? Jesus Elena, you were doing so well!"

I roll my eyes. "Well…I just thought it wasn't an obvious code word so…"

"Urgh. We don't need codes, we can just wing it!"

"Yeah because that always works so well! What happened to plans of action?"

"The plan was to spend a weekend away from Mystic Falls with Tyler and it's working! I'll handle the rest." She tells me confidently but I can still hear the nerves in her voice as we drive up into Damon's driveway. "Now tell your boyfriend to hurry up! The sooner we get there the better."

"Sure thing." I mumble while rolling my eyes, taking my cell phone out of my purse to text to him to say that we have arrived. I let out a smile when I see Damon quickly jog down the steps from his house, his bag swung over his shoulder as he waves before motioning for Caroline to open the trunk.

"What are you doing!" Caroline hisses at me and I turn to face her confused.

"What?"

"Get back there!"

"Now?"

"Yes! Tyler could be waiting for us when we get there and jump straight in the back, go!"

I let out a laugh and roll my eyes before opening the door, stepping out slowly to mind my leg and then grabbing my crutches.

"Hey," Damon closes the trunk and walks around the side of the car to greet me. "You didn't have to get out babe." He leans down and kisses me quickly.

"I wanted to say hello properly." I smile and grip onto his forearms through my crutches and kissing him again.

"Well I'm glad you did." He murmurs against my mouth with a grin before pulling away. Caroline beeps the horn in frustration and I roll my eyes and watch as Damon's smile widens. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, think I'm gonna sit in the back with you though." I tell him casually and go to get in but he stops me. "What?"

"You need to stretch out your leg." He tells me seriously. "It'll probably be best if you sit up front…"

I glance briefly at Caroline who is waiting impatiently and shake my head. "It's fine, it's not too long of a trip and I'm sure Caroline will stop if I need to. Come on, I want to sit with you." I tell him firmly and watch as he waits a moment before shrugging and helping me into the car before climbing in beside me.

"Geez, about time!" Caroline whines before quickly pulling off.

"What's got your knickers in a twist Barbie? There's no rush is there?"

"Well I'd rather get there before dark, thanks!" she rolls her eyes through the mirror as we arrive at the Lockwood mansion and just as Caroline predicted, Tyler is stood outside waiting, his bag by his feet.

"Hey man." Damon greets him as he climbs in the front beside Caroline who suddenly looks very shy and I press my eyebrows surprised because Caroline going quiet around a boy must mean that she actually really likes him!

"Damon, lookin healthy bro!"

"Thanks, I guess." Damon rolls his eyes slightly and I smile because it's true, most of the cuts and bruises on his face from Klaus have mostly healed up, so unless you see him shirtless, it almost looks like nothing even happened to him last week.

"So…what's the plan for tonight?" Tyler asks curiously as Caroline sets off, still not really saying a word except for a quick hello and a smile in his direction.

"I don't know…Caroline?" I push her to speak.

"I booked us a table at a fancy restaurant in the nearest town for tonight, I figured we could have a few drinks with our fake ID's, eat some nice food and just chill out." She tries to sound as casual as she can.

"Urgh a restaurant? Can't we go to like a club or a bar or something?" Tyler doesn't sound impressed and I immediately scowl.

"Um, ungrateful much?" I snipe at him coldly.

"What?" he turns his head and looks at me innocently. "I'm just sayin, I thought we were going to have fun!"

"Don't have to be an ass about it." I argue annoyed, noticing the disappointed look on my best friends face.

"We can always just go to a club afterwards? No big deal." Caroline states simply.

"That's all I'm suggesting, no need to get your knickers in a twist Elena."

"No need to be a dick, Tyler." I fire back immediately.

"Ok…" Damon interrupts before he can say anything else and presses his hand on my thigh. "Quick subject change, where's witchy at? I thought she was coming with."

"She's not feeling great so she's going to stay home." Caroline answers for me, grateful for the change in subject.

"Oh well, sucks to be her!" Damon shrugs casually. "PS, I stole some top expensive liquor courtesy of Mr Giuseppe Salvatore so we shall be having some fun this weekend!"

"I call a hot tub party!" Tyler grins happily.

"Only if Elena has brought her bikini." Damon smirks at me cheekily and I swat him lightly on the arm before letting out a smirk of my own.

"You're just going to have to wait and find out aren't you babe?" I tease him with a smile and he chuckles before leaning over and kissing me slowly, his tongue sliding into my mouth to deepen it as his hand runs up my thigh.

"Um, keep it PG back there!" Caroline interrupts us and Damon pulls away with a groan.

"I hope she's not going to be like this all weekend, can't we just ditch her?" Damon asks me in a huff and I let out a small laugh when Caroline immediately answers.

"I can hear you, jackass!"

"You were meant to blondie!"

We spend the rest of the journey talking, laughing and teasing each other and I'm surprised to actually witness how much Caroline and Tyler do actually get along, sure, Tyler keeps coming out with the odd douchebag comment, which I can see upsets Caroline but at least I can see now that he's not doing it intentionally, he's just being a general idiot and it's quite clear to me that he has absolutely no idea about Caroline's feelings for him, which I just know is going to make this weekend that tad bit more tricky.

* * *

"Elena! You ready?" I stand by the bathroom door which Elena is locked inside of. "Caroline told me to tell you to hurry up and to say she's already called us a cab."

"I'm coming!" she shouts back, her voice muffled by the piece of hard solid oak between us. I glance down at my watch impatiently, knowing that if we don't leave now we're probably going to be late.

"Elena!"

"One second, Damon!"

I roll my eyes because I know it won't just be one second, geez, what is it with girls that make them take _so long_ to get dressed?

I'm about to knock again but the door swings open and my breath hitches in my throat and I forget all about her taking forever in there.

She is perfection.

"You like?" she smirks at me and I blink once, twice, three times before letting out an awkward cough and clearing my throat.

"Uh…wow. You look…_stunning_." I take her hand and bring it to my lips and kissing it slowly. "Seriously, you're beautiful." I eye her black tight floral dress, which hugs her curves perfectly, before taking in her features. Her hair is up and platted to the side, and her makeup is just right.

"Thanks," she smiles shyly and I see the hint of a blush on my cheek and I step forward and kiss her softly.

She smiles against my lips before pulling away and taking in my simple tight black shirt and dark jeans. "You look hot yourself Mr Salvatore."

"Why thank you, Miss Gilbert." She loops her arm through mine and we walk slowly down the stairs, Elena hobbling along beside me and I hand her one of her crutches that is resting by the bottom of the stairs, taking the other one in my spare hand as she loops her left arm through it, her right arm still holding onto mine.

"Wow Elena! You look hot!" Caroline gushes. "I _love_ that dress!"

"Thanks Care." Elena smiles shyly at the attention and I don't know why because she should be used to people complimenting her on how beautiful she is.

A horn breaks the comfortable silence that we fell into and we quickly make our way outside into the cab.

The journey isn't too long and I help Elena out once we arrive at the restaurant and I can see already that it is a fancy one.

"This looks nice." Elena comments as we walk inside, noticing it's a little crowded as we stand in the small queue to wait to be seated.

"My Mom recommended it; she came over here last week with some friends and said it was really good." Caroline says and I watch as she glances at Tyler. "Didn't your Mom go too?"

Tyler shrugs casually; his hands tucked into his dress pants pockets as he eyes the restaurant. "I'd much prefer a McDonald's."

I roll my eyes and watch as Caroline punches him in the arm and he groans, rubbing it and looking at her with an innocent pout.

"You just don't appreciate fine food, Lockwood." I pat his shoulder before wrapping my arm around Elena's waist and bringing her closer against me.

"Oh I appreciate it, just not this overpriced crap."

"Ok!" Caroline interrupts in annoyance. "Why don't you boys actually be useful for once and find out what's taking so long? I booked a table, we shouldn't have to wait!"

I roll my eyes at her impatience before kissing Elena's forehead and pushing past the small crowd of people to the young man stood by with a notepad in his hand, Tyler following close behind me.

"Hey man, we had a table booked for eight…we were just wondering when it would be ready?"

"Name?" he asks in a bored tone, not even bothering to look up at me.

"Forbes." I state simply and I watch as the waiter sighs loudly before scanning the list.

"You're names not here." He finally looks up at me and I frown and glance at Tyler.

"Ok, try Gilbert?"

"Nope."

"You didn't even look!" Tyler cuts in annoyance.

"Would you like me to book you another table? Two, is it? I hope you don't mind waiting, it'll be at least 30 minutes."

"No." I reply coldly. "We want the table we booked, and it's for four people. Look again."

"Sir, I've looked, and it's not here." He replies in a monotone voice. "Now, are you going to want to book a table?" he asks again.

"Nah, forget it asshole." I glare at him and turn away, Tyler following as we return to Elena and Caroline.

"Well? Is it ready?" Caroline asks.

"He's saying there isn't a booking." I answer still feeling pissed off. "He was an ass so I told him to stuff it, come on let's go somewhere else."

I go to grab Elena's hand but Caroline is having none of it. "Oh no, I came here to eat at _this_ restaurant! I booked a table!" she stands on her tip toes to look over at the waiter I spoke to before looping her arm through Elena's. "Come on, he's cute, I think we can use our advantages to get us in here." She pulls Elena away before I can even argue against that idea.

I watch in shock as not even five minutes later Caroline is waving us over and I look at Tyler in disbelief, who lets out a shrug before walking over to them and I reluctantly follow.

The second I get there, the asshat of a waiter is flirting with Elena like his life depends on it and I immediately scowl and wrap my arm around her shoulder protectively.

"Oh hey…_Steve_." I read the nametag off his shirt. "I see you managed to find our table after all?"

He looks surprised for a moment to see me and then returns the smile onto his face, suddenly acting like the perfect gentleman. "Ah yes, sorry about that sir, it was simply just a small misunderstanding. Come follow me to your table."

"Misunderstanding my ass." I mutter under my breath coldly and Elena sticks her elbow out into my side and I yelp slightly as we follow him through the busy restaurant.

"Behave." Elena mumbles quietly as we eventually get to our table.

I watch with a frown as the waiter pulls out a chair and motions to Elena to sit down. "Here you go Madam."

"Thank you." Elena smiles politely and pulls her crutches from her arms and I roll my eyes and take my seat next to her, as the waiter quickly helps Caroline into her seat opposite Elena, Tyler sitting opposite me.

"Sore leg you have there, sweetheart, I hope it's not too painful." The waiter comments with fake concern as he hands us our menus, barely looking at me and Tyler. "How'd it happen?"

"Um…" Elena glances at me for a second and I lean my arm on the back of her chair, shuffling closer beside her. "I fell down the stairs."

"Ouch." Steve the perfect waiter sends her a sympathetic smile and his eyes linger for a few seconds too long and I really don't like it. "Well, I hope you get better soon."

"Thanks."

"Can I get you two beautiful ladies some of our house special red wine tonight? I recommend it."

"How about you give us a moment alone to actually look at the menu and we'll get back to you?" I cut in coldly and he looks at me a little put off for a second before plastering the smile back on his face and nodding his head.

"Of course sir, I'll be back in five."

"Damon, you didn't have to be rude." Caroline scolds me the second he walks away.

"The guy's a dick." I throw back.

"You're just jealous because he fancies Elena!" Caroline hits back and I glare at her.

"I'm not jealous." I huff.

"Yes you are, isn't he?" she looks at my girlfriend who lets out a small laugh and places one of her hands behind my head, her fingers playing with my hair.

"Well he has no reason to be jealous, do you babe?" Elena smiles softly at me and I nod my head before turning back to Caroline.

"What she said."

Caroline rolls her eyes and picks up the menu, scanning through it with her eyes before her and Elena decide to share a bottle of the house wine anyway, Tyler and I opting for beers instead.

Will the waiter comes back far too soon for my liking and immediately takes our drink orders, the smug grin returning to his face when the girls tell him that they did in fact take on his recommendation. After a little more flirting, and me making sure that he knows that Elena is _not available_, he goes on his way yet again, quickly returning with our drinks and I send him on his way again.

Once we order our food, thankfully to someone else this time, Caroline and Elena quickly excuse themselves to go to the bathroom.

I watch them go, my eyes lingering a little low on Elena, but that dress she is wearing really does hug her body _perfectly. _

"Hey." Tyler speaks, snapping my attention away from my girlfriend just as they reach the bathroom door anyway and I turn my head around to face him and nod for him to continue. "Does this feel weird to you?"

"What?" I ask confused.

"This." He motions to the table between us. "You and me…in a posh fancy restaurant…"

"Yeah," I chuckle and nod my head. "It is a little weird; not exactly our usual hang out spot."

"I know, right?" Tyler shuffles on his seat feeling uncomfortable and I smile before taking a chug from my beer. "Man, no offence or anything but I regret coming on this trip."

"None taken." I shrug, I guess it's been a bit crappy so far for him, I'm only enjoying myself because of Elena.

"I feel like a third wheel to you and Elena."

"What about Caroline?"

"She's just…Caroline." He frowns slightly to himself before continuing. "This is weird man, she's acting weird."

"It's Caroline, she's always acting weird." I roll my eyes slightly. "She's…not normal."

He smiles a little at that comment before taking a sip from his drink. "She's definitely something else."

I frown when I see a glint in his eye and my own immediately widen. "Oh my god. You like her!" I let out a howl of laughter and his face immediately turns red as he leans forward.

"Shut up!" he hisses under his breath, the couple on the table beside us glancing at us briefly. "I don't!"

"You so do!" I accuse him with a smirk. "Dude, what's the problem? I mean, personally I don't really get the attraction and I think she's a pain in the ass, but I guess she is kinda attractive."

"She's my _friend_!"

"So?" I scoff. "Elena was my friend first too, these things happen."

"Nah, not for Caroline." Tyler mutters and glances nervously towards the bathroom door to see they have still not left yet. "She doesn't like me that way."

"How do you know that for sure?" I ask him seriously.

"Because I _do_." He sends another nervous glance before continuing. "I know something."

I frown a little, leaning forward as Tyler lowers his voice. "What?" I ask a little intrigued.

"Caroline…well…she likes someone else." He looks down at the table before continuing. "She likes Stefan."

I look at him seriously for a moment, watching as he looks annoyed by this information and then shifts back into his seat nervously. I watch him for another moment before I can't stop myself and my lips spread and I burst out laughing.

"Damon what the hell!" he looks pissed off by amusement. "This isn't funny!"

"You think Caroline likes Stefan? My brother Stefan?" I ask after calming myself down. "Seriously?!"

"Yes! I overheard her talking to Matt about it!"

"Nah uh, there is no way in hell that Caroline Forbes would be attracted to my baby bro."

"Why the hell not? Elena was."

I scowl at his argument "How about you don't bring my girlfriend into this."

"Sorry," he mutters and holds his hands up in defence. "But whatever, I'm over it. I'm just going to take advantage of this high percentage beer before getting wasted and hooking up with the hottest girl I can find tonight."

"You think that's a good idea?" I ask unsure.

"Why the hell not? I'm single; you do remember what that's like, right? I mean I know Elena has you whipped pretty badly but surely you remember the joy of the chase." He smirks at me and I roll my eyes.

"If you call slutty girls throwing themselves at me a chase? Then sure!" I wink at him and he scoffs before rolling his eyes.

"Good to know your arrogance hasn't lessened since you took on monogamy."

"Nah, if anything it's gotten worse." I smirk and lean back against my chair smugly. "I'm dating the hottest girl in Mystic Falls! I have plenty of things to be arrogant about."

Tyler chuckles and glances back and I notice that the girls are on their way back to the table. "So, wing man duties?" he asks quickly.

"Sure, why not." I shrug casually just as they get back and sit down.

"Why not what?" Elena asks curiously after hearing the ending of our conversation.

"Your boyfriend is on wingman duty tonight, hope you don't mind." Tyler answers for me and I watch as Elena frowns and turns to face me.

"Wingman duty?"

"Yeah…" I trail, unsure why she sounds annoyed at this.

I watch confused as she glances at Caroline who is guzzling down her wine like it's nobody's business before turning back to face me. "You can't." she says quietly so no one else can hear us.

"Why not?" I ask confused, keeping my tone low too. "It's no big deal…I'm just helping out a buddy."

"Well…" she glances back across the table again briefly before continuing. "I don't want you too."

I frown. "What?"

"Well…uh…after what happened last time, with that girl. I don't want to have to watch other girls flirt with you and hit on you all night."

"Oh come on, you know I'm not interested in anyone else but you, and if I remember correctly you seemed to enjoy giving that girl a show the last time."

"Well I was drunk." She shrugs stubbornly.

"You'll be drunk tonight!"

She scowls before shaking her head. "Look, I just don't want you too, ok?"

"Fine." I answer a little annoyed that maybe she doesn't trust me. "Whatever, you want Elena."

I turn away, ending the conversation just as my favourite waiter comes back with our food, flirting yet again with Elena and I'm starting to feel even more pissed off.

This night is not turning out the way I'd hoped.

* * *

I watch as after Damon walks me through the crowded club to the table we find, he goes off with Tyler to the bar without even so much as a kiss goodbye and I roll my eyes seeing that he is still in a sulk about our a little conversation in the restaurant.

I can't do right for doing right. If I didn't say anything to Damon about being Tyler's wingman, Caroline would be upset and have to watch the guy she likes flirt with other girls all night.

Why can't the two of them just stay with us? Why does Tyler insist on parting ways tonight?

I don't even know why Damon is mad, I'm sure that he wouldn't be happy if I was flirting with other guys tonight just because Caroline wanted a cheap quick hook up, hell, he didn't even like that waiter flirting with me and that was totally harmless!

"Are you two ok?" Caroline asks confused and I snap out of my thoughts.

"Yeah." I nod my head and force a smile. "We'll be fine."

"This isn't about what Tyler said before is it? About Damon being his wingman? I don't want to cause any trouble, I know I asked for your help but I don't want to start anything with you and Damon just because Tyler clearly doesn't like me."

"No don't be silly." I reach across the table and take her hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. "Damon is just being a bit of a hypocrite, and Tyler is an idiot…how can he not see how amazing you are." I smile reassuringly at her. "Don't worry, it's only the first night, you still have time to turn this around with him."

I stop talking as I notice the boys coming back to the booth we are sat in, holding a tray each, one with shots and the other with our drinks.

"Ladies!" Tyler grins as he places his tray of shots down. "Two each, last one to finish buys the next round."

Damon sits next to me but doesn't say a word as he downs his two shots quickly and I immediately doing the same, glad that I beat Caroline too it since I won't have to pay for the next round of drinks.

I watch as Tyler and Caroline chat to each other across from us and I immediately shuffle in my chair and place my hand on Damon's thigh.

"Hey," I lean forward so I'm close to his ear so he can actually hear me. "I'm sorry about before, in the restaurant…It's not what you thought it was."

He pulls his head back slightly and looks at me confused before frowning. "So what was it like?" he leans back in so I can hear him. "You don't trust me?"

"What?" I ask shocked that he'd say that and I feel bad that the thought even crossed his mind, I never intended to hurt him, I just needed an excuse for my best _not_ to be hurt. "Of course I trust you, Damon."

"Well then, what was the problem? I was only helping out Tyler…he needs to take his mind off certain…_things_."

"And you think the best way for him to that is to hook up with girls?"

"Elena!" Caroline shouts across the table. "I'm going to get us our next round of drinks!" she says before shuffling out of the booth, Tyler following her to help and I'm thankful for the moment alone.

"That's not what _I_ think." He defends himself. "It's what Tyler wants, I was just trying to be a good friend, I had no idea that you'd not be happy about it."

I sigh and shake my head, knowing that this isn't worth getting into an argument for. "Look, if I tell you something, will you promise you won't say anything? Especially to Tyler?" I ask him seriously. "Or Caroline actually…she will kill me if she knows I've told you."

Damon looks intrigued and leans even closer and I squeeze his thigh impatiently when he doesn't answer. "Ok, ok, I promise I won't say anything."

"This whole weekend, it's a set up!" his eyes scrunch up in confusion and I continue. "Caroline and I planned it, well, Caroline planned it, I just helped her…"

"I don't get it." He looks at me puzzled.

I let out a sigh and glance over at the bar to see that they are still waiting to be served before looking back at Damon "Caroline likes Tyler."

Damon's eyes widen in surprise and a smile immediately crosses his lips. "I knew she wouldn't like Stefan!"

"What?" I ask confused. "Stefan? Did you even listen to me? Caroline likes _Tyler_!"

"Oh I heard you!" he looks amused before pressing his lips against my ear and making me shiver. "Want to know a secret too?" he says and I gulp and nod my head. "Tyler likes Caroline."

"What!" I shriek surprised and lean back, looking at Damon with wide eyes and he nods his head with a smile. "Seriously?"

"_Seriously_. He told me earlier while you were both in the bathroom at the restaurant, but for whatever idiotic reason, he seems to think that Caroline likes my baby bro, which I _knew_ was ridiculous, hence why he wants to score tonight and I agreed to help him."

Suddenly everything makes sense.

"Oh god, this is a mess!" I laugh and shake my head in disbelief. "Caroline is going to freak."

"Whoa, no no no no!" Damon immediately shakes his head. "You can't tell Caroline!"

"Why not?" I ask with a pout. "She'll love this!"

"Nope! You can't, for the same reason I know you don't want me to tell Tyler that Caroline likes him. Look, they both like each other, we both know that but they are clearly not ready to admit it to each other yet so let's not interfere."

"Damon!" I sulk.

"I'm serious, Elena! This isn't any of our business."

"But…"

"_Elena_."

"Please!" I wrap my arms around his neck and bring his face next to mine, my bottom lip sticking out. "Please, please, please! Please Damon!" I run my hand slowly up his thigh as the other continues to play with his soft thick locks.

He groans before shaking his head. "Fine." He huffs. "We'll help them out a little, push them in the right direction." He huffs. "But I'm not playing cupid, you hear me? I don't do romance, especially for Caroline Forbes!"

"Well, we both know that is not true, you _do_ do romance." I grin at him and watch as a smile creeps onto his face.

"For your eyes _only, _but don't you dare tell anyone! It's a _secret_." He widens his eyes at me slightly and I giggle before pressing my mouth against his in a kiss.

"Oh good! You've made up!" Caroline returns with another tray of shots and drinks. "Come on, drink up!"

* * *

The rest of the night runs smoothly, most of the time we just sat in our booth enjoying each other's company, Elena's leg preventing her from heading down to the overcrowded dance floor, therefore keeping me and Caroline by her side for most of the night.

I did my best to keep Tyler from venturing off on his own, for Elena's sake only of course, and I think from the giggles coming from across the booth, my method has been working. Every time Tyler got up, Elena nudged me to follow and I took it upon myself to be the worst wingman ever known to man.

Every girl he spotted, I criticised or lied about saying I had already spotted her with another guy, and when he did actually speak to a girl, I may or may not have accidently spilt my drink on her, or acted like a complete dick to another, or told another one that Tyler had a girlfriend when he went to the bathroom.

I'm not proud of any of my actions.

Actually, that's a lie, because every time I looked across to the booth we left the girls at to see Elena giving me an approving smile or a wink, I felt proud of myself.

We eventually decide to call it a night, the club not being as fun as the last time since Elena couldn't really go anywhere inside without the risk of hurting her leg even more, so we go outside and hail a cab, a drunk Caroline informing us that the party is going to continue back at the cabin.

Me? I'd much prefer to grab Elena, take her back to her room and lock the door.

However, Elena is still in full gear of _Team Forwood_ mode, her word, definitely not mine.

I'm not sure how good it is for Elena to temporarily take off her bandage on her leg to jump in the hot tub, but when she reveals her bikini clad body all my worries fly out of the window and I quickly follow her in there, Caroline drunkenly sliding across from us with a swinging bottle of my Dad's finest bourbon in her hand.

I reach across and snatch it from her hands before she can even blink and she looks across at me with a glare on her face.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, this stuff only gets to be drank by people who actually _appreciate_ good liquor." I shrug casually and take a large gulp of it myself to make a point, smirking as I hand the bottle to Elena who rolls her eyes but drinks it anyway.

"No worries, Care!" Tyler slides out the back door of the cabin in just his swimming trunks, a bottle of his own in his hand. "I've brought vodka!" he jumps in beside Caroline, the two of them facing us.

"Ah, my _hero_!" Caroline drunkenly gushes as she steals the bottle from his hands and I send a cringe look of disgust to Elena who in return digs her nails into my thigh a little too hard. "I know, let's play a game!"

"Sure!" Elena agrees quickly as I wrap my hand around her waist underneath the hot bubbling water.

"How about truth or dare?" Tyler suggests and I scoff and shake my head.

"Lame!"

"Ok, fine. I never?" Tyler argues and I sigh loudly before shrugging and giving in.

"Fine."

"Sounds good to me! I'll go first!" Caroline grins excitedly. "I have never…had sex in school."

I smirk and take a sip and notice Elena blushing beside me before taking the bottle from me and taking a gulp of her own, the embarrassment clear on her face.

"_What_!" Caroline shrieks in disbelief at Elena whose cheeks turn even a deeper shade of red. "Elena Gilbert!"

Elena shrugs almost innocently and I chuckle and squeeze her hips. "He's a bad influence on me!" she tries to pass the blame and I laugh again before letting out a shrug of my own.

"It's true, I am!" I smirk and Tyler laughs loudly before fist bumping me, causing me to earn another nail in my thigh courtesy of one Elena Gilbert.

I grin at her and lean forward and kiss her quickly. "Sorry." I whisper against her lips before kissing her again.

"Um, I want details! Where?! When?!" Caroline interrupts us and I roll my eyes.

"Me too actually." Tyler smirks and I send him a glare.

"Stop being perverts, let's move on…" I run my other hand up and down Elena's thigh slowly and notice her gulp slightly beside me; her cheeks still a light shade of pink.

"I'll go." Tyler starts and thinks for a second before glancing at Caroline. "I have never…kissed Elena."

I frown at his choice as I take a large gulp from my bottle of bourbon, knowing it's a bit obvious but watch with wide eyes as Caroline takes a drink of her own.

"Whoa! What!" I almost choke and turn to look at Elena who puts her head in her hands.

"I feel very hard done by in this game!" she whines.

"When the hell did you two kiss?!" I ask in disbelief before looking at Tyler. "And how the hell did you know about it!"

"I saw it." Tyler shrugs with a large grin on his face. "At a party over the summer, they were wasted!"

"Oh my god!" Caroline groans in embarrassment. "We were way too drunk."

"And it was for a dare!" Elena defends herself.

"How about I dare you both to repeat it? Show Damon what he missed out on." Tyler smirks and I shrug.

"I wouldn't totally be put off by that idea." I grin and Elena yet again digs her nails into my thigh. "Ouch. Will you stop that!" I pout at her as a drunk Caroline and Tyler continue to bicker about how wasted they were that night and that it was only for a dare and why they certainly will not be doing a repeat for us.

"Stop being a baby, I barely touched you!"

"I'm sure the little scars I'm going to have on my leg will prove otherwise."

"Oooh…did I hurt you? Big bad Damon Salvatore?" she wraps her arms around my neck and brings my head closer to hers. "Want me to kiss it better?" she whispers with a smirk, her eyes glistening as she bites on her bottom lip and now I'm the one who is gulping.

"Amongst other things." I wiggle my eyebrows at her and she giggles before kissing me slowly, her tongue sliding into my mouth as I moan against her lips, my hand sliding up her thigh and I feel her shudder against me as my fingers graze her centre. "Want to call it a night?" I murmur against her lips and she slowly nods her head.

She pulls away from me and it's then that I notice the silence that has descended upon us and watch with matching wide eyes to see Caroline and Tyler across the hot tub from us, making out.

I cringe immediately and look at Elena in disgust because of the sight but she has a big excited smile on her face.

"Mission Forwood, complete!" she lifts up her hand and against my better judgement and my reputation I humour her and crash my hand against hers, giving her the high five that she deserves and I roll my eyes, hiding my smile as she lets out a quiet squeal before quickly pulling me out of the hot tub and into the house without being noticed.

"Damon," she looks at me proudly as she glances back out of the window to where Tyler and Caroline are still making out in the hot tub, oblivious to our departure.

"Yes?"

"We should play cupid more often."

The smile on her face is what makes me tell her that I'll think about it.

* * *

**So, this was a bit of a filler drama free chapter! The next chapter will be set back in Mystic Falls, hopefully it'll be written in better time despite only having the use of one arm!**

**Thanks to all you awesome reviewers, you all keep this story going and your comments and feedback are very much appreciated! **

**Until next time! :) **


	40. Chapter 40

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**Big thanks to all your supportive comments, I'm glad you all understand about my arm and I hope you're not disappointed that this chapter is a little shorter than the rest, due to my one working hand to type with! Hope you like it...**

* * *

"How does that feel?"

I reach down and rub my now cast free leg with my hand with a smile. "So much better, thank you. You have no idea how fed up I was getting with those damn crutches!"

"Yeah, she wouldn't stop moaning for days on end!" Jeremy smirks and I smack him on the shoulder.

Dr Fell chuckles with a smile and jots down some notes into her clipboard before looking back up at me. "You still need to take it easy and rest, just because the cast is off doesn't mean that your leg is fully healed but you can definitely walk around on your own now." She tells me reassuringly and I let out a loud sigh of relief.

"I'll make sure she doesn't overdo it." Jenna answers with a smile. "Do you think she needs anymore physical therapy?"

"No she's good, as long as she takes it easy for the next few days, so no competing in marathons or anything like that," she smiles "Then she should be ok and her leg will be as good as new."

"Thank you." I tell her gratefully, so happy to finally be able to walk by myself again!

"How is that boyfriend of yours doing anyway?" Dr Fell asks curiously. "Has he been following my instructions?"

I let out a laugh at the thought of Damon following any kind of instruction. "No, his bed rest, if we can even call it that, barely lasted two days!"

Dr Fell chuckles and shakes her head. "I figured as much. He's not one for following orders, is he?"

"Nope." I agree while standing up and pulling on my jacket. "I did try and make him rest but he doesn't listen, he thinks he knows best."

"Men," she replies with a slight roll. "As long as he's better though?"

"Yeah he is." I reply honestly. "He's much better, almost like nothing ever happened now…" I look down at my now healed leg and glance at Jenna who sends me a soft smile.

"You're both very lucky." Dr Fell tells me with a smile and I nod my head in agreement. It could have ended so badly. "Ok then, I think we are done here, Elena, so hopefully…I'll not have to see you around here for a long time."

"Yeah," I let out a small laugh. "Fingers crossed!"

Jenna thanks Dr Fell once more for everything before we finally leave the hospital; I let out a big sigh as the fresh air hits me, feeling better already to being able to walk with equal weight on each of my legs.

"Hey," Jenna interrupts the comfortable silence that has descended upon us in the car. "How about we stop by for some breakfast before school? Celebrate Elena getting her cast off, I'm sure missing your first class won't hurt."

"Sounds good to me!" Jeremy agrees quickly with a smile and I laugh and nod my head.

"Yeah, I like the sound of that!"

* * *

I look down at my cell phone to read the text off Elena telling me that she'll be missing first period to go for breakfast with her family. I smile and put my phone in my pocket, thankful that she's finally gotten that cast off her leg and that she's better. Every time I looked at it, all I could about is Klaus shooting her.

This is a new start for us.

I pull my text book out of my locker in the crowded hallway but freeze when I notice the normally loud corridor fall into almost a complete silence.

I turn around and notice that people are staring and whispering and that's when I see who exactly who they are looking at.

Rebekah Mikaelson.

I haven't seen her since she came to my hospital room two weeks ago. She never went back to school since the incident and I'm guessing she's been grieving for Kol. Even if he is a murdering bastard, he's still her brother.

I watch with a clenched jaw as she shifts awkwardly through the hall, her eyes on the floor, her face pale and her stance full of fear and nerves and I'm reminded of the absolute ignorant and rude people this town is made up of.

I watch as she self-consciously shifts her backpack on her shoulder, and the movement makes her hand slip and it crashes to the floor, text books and other things pouring out of it in the middle of the hallway, everyone's eyes on her.

My feet start moving before I can even think about it, and I ignore all the stares and whispers as I bend down and pick up her things, standing up and watching as she looks at me with wide eyes.

"Here." I force a small smile and hand them to her, watching as she skeptically takes them from my hands. "What are you all looking at?!" I shout around me in annoyance and people immediately turn around and pretend to be busy. I roll my eyes and Rebekah brushes past me and I watch her go for a second before going against my better judgement and following her.

"What do you want Damon?" she huffs in annoyance when she notices me walking by her side. "If you're here to gloat, don't bother ok!"

"I'm not here to gloat." I answer seriously and watch as she sends nervous glances around where people's stares are still on us as we walk through the hallway.

"Then what do you want?"

I shrug casually. "Nothing, I'm just walking to class."

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Well can you not walk with me? People are talking about me enough as it is."

"And you're letting them get to you."

"No, I'm not." She snaps coldly but I can see the fear and paranoia in her.

"Yes you are, look at you! You're confidence has been shot dead." I say and watch as her face drops and I immediately regret my choice of language.

She stops and turns to face me, her eyes watering. "You're such an ass!" she shoves me before storming away and I groan loudly before running after her and grabbing her arm, pulling her into an empty classroom away from everyone's prying eyes. "Get off me, Damon!"

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that!" I tell her seriously. "That was not intentional, I swear. Trust me; I'm the last person who is going to joke about what happened."

She looks at me hesitantly before her shoulders sag and she nods her head. "I never apologized to you," she says and I look at her confused. "For what happened at the hospital," she clarifies. "I shouldn't have just stormed in like that and said what I did, I was just upset…and worried…and angry."

"That's ok, I understand. I would have done the same."

"I really had no idea it was Kol…" she tells me seriously. "Honestly, I always thought it was Klaus, even when he denied it and tried to blame you."

"Yeah well, so did everyone else. I certainly didn't see it coming, the thought didn't ever cross my mind that someone else could have been there that night and killed her." I admit. "How are you um…" I cough awkwardly. "Um…you know… with Klaus…and Kol, it must be difficult."

"You don't have to ask, Damon." She smiles sadly. "I know how much you hate them, more so now than ever. I know you don't care that he's dead, that Klaus is probably going to be in prison for the next 20 or so years of his life, maybe even longer."

I stay silent because she's right. If anything, I'm glad that Kol is dead and I'm even happier that it was Klaus to do it, now they have both been punished and I'll never have to see either of them again.

"I won't lie to you and say that I'm sad about it, because well, you know that I'm not. But you didn't ask for any of this, so…it's not fair that people out there are treating you like this."

Rebekah frowns and looks at me with an aspect of surprise as she scrunches her eyebrows together. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

I shrug and lean on the desk behind me casually. "Because, until you came back I was the one everyone stopped to look at, or whisper about, and in turn it turned into people doing the same to Elena. Honestly, I don't give a crap what they think, but I know that it sometimes got to her and it's clearly getting to you too, so I know it sucks." I tell her simply.

"So you feel sorry for me?"

"No." I scoff. "I don't, I feel sorry for them, because they clearly have crappy boring lives if they find _yours_ interesting."

"Gee, thanks Damon." She rolls her eyes but I can see a faint smile fighting to cross her lips.

"Anytime, Rebekah." I smirk at her as the bell rings and I walk around her to the door to leave the classroom before it fills up with students. "I still think you're a bitch though." I snipe at her as I leave and I let a smile linger on my lips as I hear her laugh behind me.

* * *

"Oh wow! Check you out with two healthy lookin legs! Very sexy, Gilbert!" Damon shouts across the car park to me as I climb out my car and see him stood out in the courtyard.

"Shut up!" I giggle with a blush as I skip towards, making sure to make a point of being able to use both of my legs. "Hey you!" I wrap my arms around his neck the second I'm close enough and bring his head down to kiss me.

Damon smiles against my lips before deepening the kiss, his hands landing on my hips.

"Gross." I pull away as Jeremy walks past us with a grimace on his face and I roll my eyes as he makes a point of showing how disgusted he is.

"Keep walking Little Gilbert or Elena is going to have to go get those crutches back for _you_!" Damon calls after him and I watch amused as Jeremy flips him the bird without turning around and Damon chuckles before kissing me again.

"So, everything go ok then?" he asks after pulling away and taking my hand in his as we walk towards the school.

"Yeah, Dr Fell said it has healed perfectly, so I'm officially healthy again!" I grin as we walk towards my locker and I notice that people are staring, _again_.

"Ok, I know we are usually topic number one in this place, but why are people looking over more than usual?" I ask with a frown.

"Ah…I think that's my fault." Damon confesses meekly as we reach my locker and come to a standstill.

"Why? What did you do?"

"Nothing!" he defends himself quickly. "Rebekah Mikaelson came back to school today."

"Oh…"

"Yeah and well…she was having a hard time so…I helped her out a little."

"What do you mean you helped her out a little?" I ask not sounding impressed and Damon immediately notices. I mean, I guess I feel bad for her that her brother has died, but she's still…well…Rebekah.

"Nothing major, she just dropped her bag so I picked it up for her, we talked a little too about what happened…and she apologised for coming to the hospital when she did."

"So she should have, she had no right accusing of you doing anything." I mutter coldly, still extremely pissed off that if Stefan wasn't there I have no doubt that Rebekah probably would have tried to claw Damon's eyes out while he was lying fragile in a hospital bed.

"You've got no sympathy for her, have you?" he asks me a little amused and I shrug.

"Don't get me wrong, she can't help who she is related too, but she's still a bitch."

Ok, my opinion on her may or may not have a little to do with her _history_ with Damon, but he doesn't have to know that!

Damon chuckles and kisses my forehead, his arms wrapping around my waist. "Enough about that family…" his hands trail up my sides before sliding back down to my hips, "Now that you're 100% better, and I'm feeling totally healthy…I think it's safe to say that we know longer have to _take it_ _easy_." He leans down and peppers kisses along my neck and I gasp and close my eyes, my hands clinging onto his arms as he nibbles on my skin gently before pressing an open mouthed kiss on top.

I place my hands on each side of his head and bring his mouth towards mine before kissing him hotly my tongue sliding against his as he pins me back against my closed locker. I moan into his mouth as his hand glides down my back and squeezes my ass tightly and I pull him closer against me so our bodies are flushed together.

"Damon," I pull away breathlessly and pant slightly as he starts to kiss my neck again "We're in school…"

"Never…stopped…us…before." He murmurs between kisses, his lips moving against my skin as he pressing his mouth back against mine briefly. "Come on baby…it's been two weeks."

I look over his shoulder and notice the once crowded hallways are almost empty and I realize it's because class is about to start. "We do have Biology next…" I trail and close my eyes as one of his hands grazes my right breast, squeezing it firmly.

I do not want to sit in a classroom with Isobel anyway, never mind feeling like this.

Damon grabs my hand and slowly trails it down to his jeans and I moan when I feel the large bulge in his pants. "Feel that? That's just from kissing you…" he kisses me again slowly and I groan against his lips and give in.

There is no way we are going to class now, I realize as the final bell rings.

I push his head away from mine with a smirk and grab his hand. "Come with me…I have an idea!"

I drag him along the corridor quickly, making good use of my now free leg and I giggle as I lead him throw the _thankfully_ empty girls changing rooms and out through another door that leads to the schools swimming pool.

I immediately let go of Damon's hand and reach down and remove my jumper and tank top in one, leaving my top half in just my bra.

Damon's eyes widen in shock before turning into glee and he looks at me in amazement. "Are you serious?"

"We've never done it in a pool before." I tell him with an innocent shrug before removing my bra and I watch as Damon's eye immediately land on my breasts and I bite on my bottom lip as I slowly unbutton my jeans, sliding them down my legs before stepping out of them, my panties following straight after and Damon looks at me with wide eyes and his jaw hanging open.

"Oh my god…you are…breath-taking." He looks over me, his voice rough and deep and I wink at him before turning around and diving into the pool, the water overtaking me.

I swim back up to the surface to see Damon still hasn't moved. "Well? Aren't you going to join me baby?"

Damon snaps out of his trance and lets out a laugh before quickly getting rid of his clothes and jumping in beside me, being not even close to graceful.

He swims towards me and immediately places his hands on my naked hips. "Elena Gilbert, you are such a naughty little minx, you know that?"

I grin and wrap my arms over his shoulders. "You're a bad influence on me." I press a hot open mouthed kiss against his lips before pulling away and swimming away with a giggle.

"Hey!" Damon shouts after me, his voice echoing across the empty hall.

"Sssh!" I giggle feeling extremely rebellious and free right now. "We don't want anyone to hear us."

"Then stop swimming away from me then."

I shrug innocently and move to a shallower spot so I can stand up, the water stopping just under my neck and lean back against the side of the pool, beckoning him with my finger to come over.

I stay frozen to my spot in anticipation as he gets closer, a feeling of nerves and butterflies in my stomach as he places his hands on either side of my head, pinning me against the ledge and I gasp as he presses his hard member against me, my eyes almost rolling into the back of my head.

"You like that huh?" he whispers into my ear and I let out a shaky breath as his hands trail up the inside of my thigh, lifting one up to wrap around his waist.

"I need you inside me, Damon." I close my eyes tightly as his fingers lightly touch my centre and clutch onto his bare back tightly, my nails digging into his skin. "Please."

"Whatever you want beautiful." He kisses me slowly and moves his hand up to my hip, the other still holding my thigh around his waist before he slowly pushes himself inside me.

I hold back a scream as he thrusts in and out, the water moving around us at the pressure and I lean my head down onto his shoulder, kissing and biting at his neck as he pants heavily into my ear.

"God you are so beautiful." He murmurs against me as one of his hands trails up my side and squeezes my breast. "Fuck."

"Harder, Damon." I whimper and bite on my lip to stop myself from being any louder as he quickens his thrusts, driving in and out of me hard and fast.

"I'm gonna…" he moves faster, plummeting in and out of me and squeezes my thigh tightly as I reach my orgasm and we both hit our release together.

"God Damon!"

I gasp breathlessly and lean against his shoulder and Damon slowly drops my thigh and presses lifts my head up and kisses me softly on the mouth before pulling out of me.

I shiver slightly at the sensation before pushing some of his wet hair back and kissing his forehead slowly. "I love you." I mumble with unsteady breaths, my lips still pressed lazily against his forehead.

"I love you more." He pulls back and places his hand against my cheek.

"Not possible." I shake my head with a smile and he chuckles softly before looking around the empty pool and suddenly I'm very aware of where we are. "Oh my god, did we really just do this?"

"Yes, we certainly did." Damon smirks, a mischievous glint in his bright blue eyes. "And it was _your_ idea for once."

I giggle and kiss him again, running my fingers through his damp hair. "Best biology lesson _ever_."

* * *

"What's got you looking so glum Little Gilbert?" I slide into the booth across from Jeremy who is sat staring down into his phone with a frown on his face.

Jeremy looks up from his cell in annoyance and rolls his eyes. "What do you want, Damon?"

"That is not a polite way to greet people, Jer! We're practically brothers!" I tease him but he just scowls at me and takes a sip from the straw his drink. "Ok seriously, what crawled up your ass and died?"

"Shouldn't you be following my sister around like a lost little lap dog or something?" he asks me coldly and I smirk and roll my eyes.

"So touchy this evening, time of the month?" I lean forward and steal his glass of coke before he can stop me, taking the straw out and throwing it on the floor before taking a large gulp. "Ah." I let out an over exaggerated sigh. "Refreshing."

"Dick." He snipes at me icily and I chuckle and take another sip, Jeremy not even bothering to try and steal his drink back. "Where's Elena? The last time she let you out of your sight you ended up being kidnapped and almost killed by two sociopath bitches. You don't do too well when you're not on your leash do you?"

I roll my eyes at his attempt to insult me and stand up, walking around the booth and sitting beside him, gripping onto his shoulder tightly and watch as he tries to squirm from my grip. "You know, I really don't give a crap what you say to me, but if you ever say comments like that in front of your sister I will kick your ass."

Jeremy glares at me and finally pulls himself out of my grasp and rubs his shoulder, a flash of pain crossing his face before he tries to hide it.

"So…I'm going to ask you again, politely this time, what, or shall I say _who_, has gotten your knickers in a twist?"

He huffs and sighs loudly before throwing his phone down on the table in front of us in annoyance. "Anna."

"Ah…" I tut and shake my head with a smile. "Girl troubles, I should have guessed."

"She's just being so infuriating! It's like she wants to know where I am and who I am with every single second of the day and if I don't answer a call or immediately reply to a text she goes crazy at me!"

"That's called a relationship." I tease him but I am thankful that Elena isn't insecure to be like that with me.

"No, it's called a prison sentence." He sulks.

"You not happy with her anymore?" I ask curiously and he stays silent before shrugging and then slowly shaking his head. "Ok then, dump her."

"What?" he turns his head to face me with wide eyes. "I'm not just going to _dump_ her!"

"Why not? If you're not happy…"

"I'm not happy _right now_ but I'm not just going to break up with a girl just because we argue sometimes, that's ridiculous." He scoffs and shakes his head.

"Every couple argue Jeremy, it wouldn't be healthy if they didn't."

"You and Elena seem pretty solid."

"We are solid, but we argue all the time." I tell him simply and he looks at me with a frown.

"That's not true."

"Yes it is, we argue almost every day, most of the time it's over something little like where to go for dinner or whether or not to get takeout, but she takes her food very seriously!" I smile slightly. "But seriously, we argue…and then we _make up_."

"Gross Damon!"

I chuckle and let out a loud sigh, turning serious. "What I'm trying to say, Jeremy, is that even when your sister drives me _crazy_ and pisses me off so much that I want to strangle her, I've never _not_ been happy with her. Even through our worst arguments, I've never been unhappy in our relationship, I've never looked as miserable as you did before I came to grace you with my presence."

Jeremy stays silent and looks down at his hands. "I just…I don't think I love her, not like I'm supposed too anyway."

"Then there's your answer." I tell him simply and we fall into a silence, and surprisingly it's not at all awkward.

Jeremy sighs loudly and finally speaks up again. "So…where is Elena anyway?"

"She's with Bonnie and Caroline, they were talking girl stuff and I got bored and thought I'd come annoy you instead."

"Bonnie's here?" Jeremy's eyes perk him and I watch as he looks around the bar before his land back on mine and he immediately tenses. "I mean…I just…" he tries to think up of an excuse for his reaction but it's too late.

"Oh Little Gilbert." I eye him in amusement and shake my head. "I think we just found the real problem you're not happy with Anna." I chuckle and pat him on the back. "Good luck with that one." I smirk and stand up, shifting out of the booth and heading back towards the table I left Elena at and my smirk immediately falls when I see John Gilbert stood by their table.

I quicken my pace and approach them. "How many times do we have to tell you to back off?!" I glare at him furiously.

John rolls his eyes and takes a step back. "Relax kid, I'm talking to Elena, not you."

I look down at Elena who shakes her head and lifts her hand up to hold mine and pulls me towards her chair, I frown but follow and stand behind her, placing my hands on her shoulders protectively as I stand behind her where she is sat. "He was just leaving." She tells me reassuringly.

"For good I hope." I mutter coldly but I'm surprised by his reply.

"Just for a few weeks." He shifts on his feet and looks back down at Elena and offering a small smile. "Hopefully we'll be able to talk properly when I get back."

Elena shrugs slightly. "We'll see."

"All I ask is that you'll think about it."

"She said she'll see." I answer for her impatiently and John scoffs and sends me a glare but knows better than to say anything, also very conscious of Bonnie and Caroline sat here too.

"I'll see you soon, Elena." He has the nerve to lean his hand down and squeeze her arm before turning around and leaving.

I watch him go with a scowl before pulling a chair next to Elena and sitting down. "Are you ok?" I ask softly, my hand stroking the back of her neck under her hair.

"Yeah." She nods her head and I can tell that she's not lying. "I'm good, he's going to New Orleans for work for a few weeks, and he agreed he wouldn't contact me until he gets back, to give me the space I asked for."

"Finally he gets it." I scoff and Elena smiles slightly.

"Where did you run off too anyway?"

"Yeah Damon, I thought you were enjoying our discussion about the reality TV and pop songs." Caroline interrupts us and I send her a mocking glare.

"It was thrilling conversation, so good I just couldn't stand to hear it." I roll my eyes and turn back to Elena. "You should probably go talk to your brother over there." I say quietly so no one else can hear.

Elena scrunches her eyebrows together and looks at me confused. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Just talk to him," I smile. "I think he needs a pep talk from his big sister." I lean forward and kiss her quickly. "I need to head home, got homework I need to do for tomorrow. Come over to mine later, yeah? You can stay the night."

"Of course." She agrees with a smile before pressing another kiss against my lips and we both stand up. "I'll see you soon." She kisses me again and I squeeze her hip before letting go and waving a quick goodbye to Caroline and Bonnie and leaving the Grill.

I walk home and the moment I get to my house I know that something is up when I see a suitcase by the front door.

I frown, not remembering Giuseppe mentioning that he was going away this week but decide to think nothing of it and go to head straight up to my bedroom but voices coming from the parlor stop me.

I walk towards it and stop when I see Stefan sat down with his head in his hands and Giuseppe stood by our drinks cabinet, a glass of whiskey in his hands.

"What's going on?" I ask confused, immediately feeling the tension of the room.

Giuseppe sighs loudly and downs his drink in one. "Where have you been? We've been trying to call you." Before I can even answer he cuts me off. "You know what, forget it, go pack a bag Damon, we need to go to Chicago."

"What? Why?" I ask confused and glance back at Stefan who looks upset. "What's wrong? Why do we need to go to Chicago?" I ask anxiously.

Giuseppe refills his drink and takes another chug. "You're grandparents have just died in a car accident." He says stiffly, his tone hard and edgy and my heart sinks into my stomach. "Now go pack a bag, our flight leaves in a few hours."

* * *

**Ok, I don't normally do this but I'm going to make an exception and ask you all a question.**

**Would you like the next chapter to be set in Chicago? Maybe take a look at the place Damon and Stefan grew up in before they moved back to Mystic Falls, see the people they were friends with etc. **

**What do you guys think?**

**A big thank you as always to all of you who were awesome enough to leave a review! And a big hello to my new readers as well, good to have you on board!**

**Until next time :) **


	41. Chapter 41

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**Ok, I have been purposely been a little hazy with the time periods in this fic, but right now I think we are in about early April in this story's timeline, just because it's a little relevant to this chapter.**

**Ps, a little warning, this chapter is _long_!**

* * *

"I miss you, a lot." I sigh into the phone as I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, my fingers twirling my thick hair in one hand while the other holds my cell phone to my ear.

"I miss you too baby." Damon sighs tiredly into the phone. "It's been a long couple of days, I can't wait to get back and see you."

"When is the funeral again?" I ask sadly, hating that we can't seem to get just a week where nothing bad interrupts our lives.

"Saturday." Damon grumbles slightly. "My Dad still has things to sort out though, the family business is in a bit of chaos and then there's the will. Plus he and my uncles are not agreeing on anything and…well…it's messy."

He sounds so tired and fed up that it literally hurts my heart.

"I still wish you'd let me come see you."

"I don't want you to miss school for me, besides, it's a funeral…I don't want to bring back any bad memories for you." He says softly. "No matter how much I want to see you."

I close my eyes and think of the situation. A married couple dying suddenly together in a car accident is hitting me where it hurts when it comes to reminding me of my parents, but I'm at a point in my life now where I don't feel like crying every time I think about it.

"I don't mind, Damon, and it's almost the weekend, I'd only miss a couple of days of school, besides I can just ask Alaric to get me some notes and keep me on track like he has been doing for you and Stefan. Let me fly over, I hate being here without you."

"I don't know Elena…"

"Please Damon, I want to help you through this and be with you."

He stays silent for a few moments and I wait with baited breath before he lets out a loud sigh. "Ok." I can't help the smile that crosses my face at his answer. "But only if your Aunt Jenna is fine with it, I don't want to cause any trouble."

"You won't." I tell him reassuringly. "I'll go look at cheap flights now, I'll try and get there as soon as possible."

"Send me the bill for the flight, there is no way in hell I am letting you pay for it."

"Damon no you-"

"Elena." He interrupts me firmly. "Send me the bill or you're not coming." He practically orders me and I roll my eyes knowing that there is no point in arguing with him about this right now.

"Ok fine." I give in. "I'll call you once everything is sorted ok? I love you."

"I love you too. See you soon." He hangs up and I sigh knowing that he isn't having the best of time over there; I know he doesn't really getting along with his Dad's side of the family but I know that his grandmother especially, did mean a lot to him.

I climb out of bed and make my way downstairs, thankful that the lights are still on meaning that Jenna is still up and awake. I walk in the room to see her and Ric sat on the sofa, a glass of wine in Jenna's hand while Ric holds a glass of bourbon.

"Hey." Jenna sits up looking a little concerned. "What are you still doing up? Everything ok?"

"I've been on the phone to Damon." I explain with a yawn while sitting on the single arm chair, bringing my legs onto it too and wrapping my arms around my knees.

"Oh, how is he?" Jenna asks with a sad smile.

"He's tired…and…you know, as one would be in this situation."

"That's understandable; the kid just can't catch a break huh." Ric shakes his head sadly. "I've cleared everything with the school for him though, he and Stefan can take as much time out as they want, everything will be waiting for them when they come back."

"Thanks Ric." I tell him gratefully before taking a deep breath. "Actually…I did come down for a reason."

"Oh?"

"I spoke to Damon and he said it's ok, well…I was thinking of flying out to Chicago tomorrow to stay with him there for a few days. The funeral is on Saturday so I want to stay until at least after that."

Jenna frowns slightly and sits forward. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Elena, I mean you have school and well…it's not exactly going to be pleasant."

"I know that." I tell her honestly. "But I hate being thousands of miles away from him right now, I feel so useless and helpless, and as for school…well I wouldn't be missing too much and I'm sure Ric can send me anything important, besides, I've already gotten into college."

"Yes, on the condition that your test average remains the same and you graduate ok."

"And I will." I tell her firmly. "Please Jenna."

She sighs loudly looking a little more convinced but not fully. "And how can you afford this? Flights are expensive Elena, especially so last minute."

"I have money saved up; besides, Damon said he was going to pay for it anyway." I practically plead with her with my eyes.

"What do you think?" she turns to face Alaric who shrugs slightly.

"I mean, if you're worried about school, I can just do the same as I am doing with Damon and Stefan. It's not a problem with me."

Jenna sighs loudly before slowly nodding her head and I let out a wide smile and quickly cross the room to hug her.

"Thank you, thank you!" I tell her, feeling extremely relieved. It's been so hard being away from Damon this week, it's only been three days but it feels like so much longer.

I send him a quick text to let him know that Jenna has agreed and I quickly head back up to my bedroom to search for flights, making sure I get the earliest one as possible.

* * *

"Morning." I mutter at Stefan as I walk into the large kitchen of what was my grandparents' house. The place is huge, like crazy big; it makes the boarding house look tiny, which I guess it is compared to this. This house proves to anyone visiting that my grandfather being the head of a large international company pays off.

"You're up early." He comments without lifting his eyes away from his phone. "I'm glad actually, we've been in Chicago for four days now and we haven't even seen any of our old friends, I figured we can get out of this house of doom and gloom for a couple hours and head over to The Barn? You never know, we could actually have a little bit of fun while we're here."

The Barn is basically the Chicago version of the Mystic Grill. I have no idea where the ridiculous name came from, but back when we lived here; it was the cool place to hang out at.

"Sure, we can go after picking Elena up from the airport." I say casually and watch as Stefan almost chokes on his coffee.

"What? Elena is coming? _Here_."

"Yup. And before you say anything, yes I have already cleared it with Daddy Dearest and he's fine about it, in fact, he doesn't really give a damn, so not a word, ok?"

Stefan looks a little pissed off by this news but for once decides to go with his better judgment and not say anything on the matter.

"I'm leaving in ten minutes, if you want out of this house I suggest you come with." I offer him before leaving the room to find my coat. I'm not exactly happy to be spending the first few hours of being reunited with my girlfriend in the company of my younger brother, who also happens to be her ex, but this house is toxic, lawyers coming in and out, family, _friends_, and business associates. It's never ending, and I wouldn't wish the hell of those social interactions on even Stefan.

I wait impatiently in the arrivals lounge of the airport in Chicago, shifting on my feet anxiously as I watch more people walk through the doors. I look around, to see the different kinds of people stood patiently waiting, each of them probably with their own story.

I check my cell phone and see that Elena should be here any minute now, before checking the time on my watch too just to be sure I got the times right. She did say she would be getting in at 10am.

I think back over the last few days, how horrible they have been and I realise that I'm dying to see Elena, not only because I have missed her, but because I need some normalcy back.

We've been staying in our grandparent's house in the Gold Coast since we arrived on Monday night, and despite the size of the house, it's still been extremely crowded. My Dad has two brothers and one of those brothers' lives in California so he and his family are also living in the house while in Chicago too, so that includes his two annoying bratty children as well as his cold hearted trophy wife. Luckily the house is big enough that we each have our own wing, but during the day it's a nightmare, my Dad's other brother who lives in Chicago is always dropping in and out at numerous times during the day, as are our family lawyer, my grandfather's personal lawyer, the company lawyer, the inheritance lawyer and the freaking life insurance lawyer. I mean seriously, how many lawyers do you really need?! Then after the lawyers, we have lots of different business associates and partners, and then there are the family friends, the many members of their country club, and the nosey neighbours.

The list is never fucking ending.

All the while, I've had to stand there in a suit wearing my tie too tight, choking me to death, with a fake sad smile on my face as I get the standard mundane comments and questions 50 times a day and I feel like I just want to scream, or punch something, really _really_ hard.

I rub the back of my neck and check my watch again to see that Elena should be here by now.

"Come on baby." I mumble under my breath impatiently.

Almost like she heard me, a crowd walks out of the large doors and among them is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and it's almost like I can actually breath again.

I watch as her eyes dart around before landing on mine and before I can even react she is speeding towards me, a big smile on her face as her body collides with mine and she is hugging me tightly.

I wrap my arm around her waist tightly, the other one tangling into her hair as she digs her face into the crook of my neck, kissing me there a few times and I feel a shiver run down my body at the sensation.

"God I am _so_ happy to see you." I murmur into her hair, pulling back and kissing her hard on the mouth. She returns the kiss immediately, deepening it, her arms tightening even more around me and I don't even care that we are in the middle of a crowded airport.

Elena eventually pulls back and leans her forehead against mine. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." I tell her honestly; suddenly feeling like the weight has been lifted from my shoulders. "You don't know how good it feels to see you…"

"Oh I think I do." She smiles and kisses me again softly, much less intense than the one before.

I smile and pull away, taking her small suitcase that she dropped by her side in my hand and grabbing hers with my other one. "Come on, Stefan is waiting in the car."

"You brought Stefan?" Elena looks surprised and I shrug slightly.

"He needed to get out of the house…"

She nods her head in understanding and squeezes my hand tightly. "How has it been? Still awful?"

I nod my head. "It's suffocating as hell, everything just seems so…_fake_, you know? But then again, I guess that was my grandparents all over, they were very much about appearances." He sighs. "Makes sense it would continue after their death."

"And how are _you_ dealing with it?"

I shrug slightly, because honestly, I haven't really had a moment to really properly think about it. "I'm dealing." I decide to answer vaguely for now.

Elena seems to accept it with understanding and I direct her towards the area of the car lot where I left Stefan sulking.

Sure enough, he is exactly where I left him in the passenger seat, a brooding look on his face as he stares out before him and I quickly unlock the trunk and lift Elena's case inside before opening the back door for her and watching her climb in as I walk around to the driver's seat of my Uncle's black sleek Range Rover that I'm loaning while I'm here.

"Hey Stefan." Elena greets him politely as she takes the middle seat and leans forward so her head is between us. "How you doin?" she squeezes his arm and I watch from the corner of my eye as he relaxes slightly.

"Ok I guess…" he trails and Elena nods her head before leaning back into her seat.

"So…who fancies breakfast?" I interrupt the tense silence that has taken over and I see Elena nod her head eagerly through the wing mirror.

"Yes please! I am starving! They offered me these weird waffles on the plane but they did not look appealing at all." She scrunches her face up in disgust and I smile.

"You mean you actually turned down food?!" I gasp in mock horror. "Jesus Christ, what is the world coming too when Elena Gilbert declines free food!"

I notice Stefan let out a small smile that he tries to hide and Elena leans forward again and punches me in the arm. "Hey!"

"That hurt!" I pout and she just rolls her eyes and leans back again.

"Baby."

"How about we go to that diner off East Ohio Street? The one that does the really nice pancakes." Stefan suggests.

"Anywhere that does nice pancakes has my vote!" Elena agrees eagerly and I nod my head before driving in that direction.

* * *

We walk over to a booth in the diner Damon and Stefan have took us too, and I slide in, Damon slipping in beside as Stefan sits opposite.

I smile softly at Damon as he opens up a menu for us to share and I'm reminded how awful these past couple of days have been away from him, and if it wasn't for Stefan sitting right across the table from us, I'm pretty sure I would have leaned over and kissed him by now, because he is just so damn irresistible, it almost pisses me off!

How am I supposed to function normally when he's all I ever think about?

"You ok?" Damon asks me quietly and turns his head to face me with a small soft smile.

"Yeah." I nod my head, biting on my bottom lip as I place my hand on top of his thigh, squeezing it gently. "I'm just happy to be her with you."

Damon's smile widens and I swear I see a faint blush cross his cheeks but he quickly pushes it off and turns back to look at the menu before advising me on what food is good here.

We fall into small chit chat, and surprisingly, despite Stefan being here, it is not really that awkward. In fact, Stefan hasn't made a single dig towards Damon or a spiteful comment about our relationship since I got here and I just hope that it continues.

Stefan was right, the pancakes that I ordered were delicious, and definitely the nicest ones I've had in a while.

It's not until we are about to leave when I notice a guy approaching our table, I surprised look on his face.

"Damon!"

I watch as Damon lifts his head and a look of recognition crosses his face. "Will, hey man what's up." They fist bump and Will gives a slight nod in Stefan's direction before turning his attention back on my boyfriend.

"I heard you were back in town but since I hadn't seen you around I figured you'd been keeping a low profile."

"Yeah," Damon nods his head and glances briefly at Stefan. "We've been spending a lot of time to ourselves and at the house."

A look of realisation crosses this Will's guys face. "Ah yeah, I heard about your grandparents, I'm sorry buddy, that sucks."

Damon shrugs slightly and I notice him tense immediately but he soon relaxes and changes the subject, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "Oh hey, this is Elena, my girlfriend."

Will's eyes widen in surprise slightly but I ignore it and give him a smile of my own as he looks back at Damon before smiling back at me.

"Girlfriend huh?" he raises his eyebrow at Damon before holding out his hand for me to shake. "Nice to meet you Elena, I'm Will. I used to live next door to these punks, we grew up together."

"Will is two years older than me," Damon joins in the conversation looking at me. "He used to get me into all kinds of trouble, take me to all the cool high school parties when I was still in middle school, he was such the bad influence."

Will laughs loudly and shakes his head. "Trust me Elena, he _begged_ me to take him with me! The kid would never leave me alone!"

I smile, imagining a 12 year old Damon wanting to go to all the cool parties with all the older guys, trying to act all cool and casual and like he was older than he was.

"I'll wait outside in the car." Stefan mutters coldly and I look across at him surprised as he slides out of the booth and leaves without another word.

"Yikes, he still pissed at me huh?" Will looks a little amused and slides in the booth opposite us, replacing Stefan.

"Why? What'd you do?" I ask curiously.

"I just used to tease him a little growing up." Will shrugs innocently.

"He means bully." Damon mockingly whispers into my ear and my eyebrows widen in surprise.

"Hey, I didn't bully anyone! I treated him the exact same way I treated you Damon, the only difference is you could take it and baby Salvatore couldn't." Will shrugs innocently and glances back at me. "He was a sensitive kid."

"Still is." Damon mutters under his breath and I elbow him in the side.

"Be nice."

Damon rolls his eyes but smiles anyway before leaning forward and pecking me quickly on the lips. "Sorry baby."

I smile back and kiss him again before slowly pulling away, looking back over at Will to see him watching us with a small look of intrigue on his face, his eyebrows scrunched together.

"Anyway brother, we gotta go." Damon stands up and Will snaps out of his thoughts and stands up as well shaking Damon's hand and then looking back at me as I slide out of the booth.

"Already? Alright man, but why don't you stop by The Barn later? I'll get some of the old guys together and we can catch up, it'll be fun."

Damon glances at me questioningly and I shrug and nod my head, because it'll be nice to meet some of the people Damon used to hang with here in Chicago. "Yeah ok then." Damon agrees. "We'll swing by tonight."

"Nice to meet you Elena," Will smiles sincerely at me and I smile back, because he does seem like a nice guy and I know that Damon doesn't really have that many _nice guy_ kind of friends.

We say our goodbyes and promise to meet up later and Damon takes a hold of my hand before leading me out of the diner.

"He seemed nice."

"He is." Damon replies with a small smile. "One of my best buddies here back when I lived here."

"Stefan didn't like him though?" I ask before we reach the car.

Damon lets out a small laugh and shakes his head. "Stefan doesn't like many people here." He says and I look at him confused. "Unlike in Mystic Falls, Stefan wasn't exactly the most popular guy in school around here."

"Really?" I ask surprised, because as soon as Stefan started Mystic Falls High in our freshman year, he immediately cemented himself within the popular crowd, especially with the jocks. "But I thought he played football here?"

"He did." Damon answers simply. "But football wasn't really the sport of choice in our school, or this city really, not like it was in Mystic Falls, our middle and high school was very much basketball focussed, every other sport except for baseball barely got a look in." he explains. "If Stefan went to the school I did my freshman year, he wouldn't have stood a chance."

"And what about you?"

"I played baseball in school, it got me in with some certain types of people, helped me make a lot of friends." He says casually. "Stefan was never interested though, not that he was even good enough. He didn't really have much friends back here, which is why he was so happy to leave for Mystic Falls, he'd heard all about the football glory days from Giuseppe to know that he'd fit right in there."

"Wow." I murmur surprised before a realisation crosses me. "So wait, _you_ were the popular brother here?" I ask amused and Damon chuckles.

"Maybe." He smirks.

"I thought you hated popularity and social status," I tease him. "And all along, you had this secret old life where you used to go to all the _cool_ high school parties, even before you were a high schooler! Damon Salvatore, wait until your boys back in Mystic Falls hear all about this!"

Damon laughs and stops walking, grabbing my other hand in his and pulling me against him. "You say a word Gilbert and you are in deep trouble."

I giggle and place my hands on his chest. "Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah." He confirms before leaning down and kissing me slowly. "So much trouble."

I smile against his lips and pull away, motioning back to the car where I know Stefan is waiting for us. "Come on, the real world awaits."

Damon sighs loudly before nodding his head and taking my hand back in his and walking back over to the range rover.

* * *

"Well well well, Damon Salvatore, I heard you were back in town."

I cringe immediately at the recognisable voice and turnaround from where I'm stood at the bar to see a girl who I am very familiar with looking at me with a smirk on her face.

"Andie Starr." I greet her with a forced smile.

She looks at me with a disbelieved smile on her face before wrapping her arms around me in a hug before I can even stop her.

I awkwardly hug her back, glancing over her shoulder to see that Elena is still playing pool with Stefan, totally oblivious to us two over here.

She eventually pulls away and I send another glance in Elena's direction to see that she is still occupied and force another smile, hoping that this isn't going to get awkward.

"Why didn't you call me?" she places her hand on my chest, her finger trailing down my stomach and I grab her hand with my own and push her hand away, much to her disappointment.

"Things are different now." I explain vaguely.

"Is this because of your grandparents?" she asks bluntly. "I heard what happens, it sucks, but hey, they were old anyway right?"

I roll my eyes. Good to know some people never change.

She takes my silence as a sign to continue. "Why don't I help you take your mind of it later on tonight, huh?" she asks suggestively and again I shake my head. "My parents are away at some retreat until tomorrow, we'd have the place to ourselves. Come on, Damon, I know you want too."

"Actually, I don't." I tell her getting straight to the point and watch as her stance changes from seductive to annoyance.

"_What_?"

"I have a girlfriend now." I tell her simply and I frown when she bursts out laughing.

Like an actual loud laugh.

"How is that funny?" I huff, sneaking another glance at Elena across the room.

"Because that has never stopped you before!"

I glare at her in annoyance but she's right, in the past that never stopped me.

I met Andie when I was 15 at a party; she went to the neighbouring private girls only school, next to my own private high school, except luckily for me, ours wasn't gender specific. When we met, I was a freshman who thought I was God's gift to all girls in town, I'd lost my virginity a couple of weeks prior and since then I'd slept with another two girls and my head was getting bigger and bigger with arrogance, all the attention I was getting from my peers who were jealous of me and wanted to be like me, as well as girls who wanted to be with me.

When I met Andie however, she had no interest in me whatsoever, or at least, that's what I first thought. She played hard to get, and it frustrated the hell out of me because despite only being 15, I was used to girls practically throwing themselves at my feet.

So I chased her for a couple of weeks, giving her all of my attention and eventually it worked and I added her to my tally.

_Yes, I was a douchebag_.

For the rest of my freshman year, we came pretty much friends with benefits, seeing other people, but always going back to each other, and it stayed that way over most of the summer too. But then August hit and I moved to Mystic Falls and Andie Starr was long forgotten about.

Until the following Christmas vacation when we went to Chicago to spend the holidays there and we ended up hooking up again.

This little arrangement started to become an annual thing, every time I was in town, over the holidays, spring break, the summer, whenever, we hooked up, no matter whom we were officially dating at the time.

The only time we didn't was when I was with Katherine and I had managed to avoid her the entire week that I was there, because honestly, I don't know if I would have even been able to stop myself if I did see Andie back then.

However, none of those girls I was seeing were Elena Gilbert.

"It's different this time." I tell her seriously. "I've changed."

She scoffs and shakes her head. "Don't sprout that bullshit with me Damon, we both know that you'll be back in my bed by midnight tonight."

I shake my head and glance at Elena again, my gaze lingering as I speak. "Not gonna happen."

Andie follows my gaze and I realise my mistake. "Is that her over there with Stefan?" I know I've been caught and I nod my head slowly. "Wow, she is not your usual type, Damon, very clean cut, and…_innocent_ looking."

"You mean she doesn't look like a whore?" I glare at her. "That's because she's not one."

Andie laughs not at all taking the insult personally, despite how much I want her too, and places her hand back on my arm. "So you think we can't play because she's here? I'm sure you can sneak away for a couple of hours."

"That is _not_ it." I practically growl at her and snatch my arm away. "I don't want to fuck you again, ok?" Andie actually looks a little hurt by my tone and I sigh and shake my head, how is she supposed to know how different things are now. "Sorry." I mumble apologetic. "I just…I've changed, and…I'd never do that to Elena."

"Elena, huh?" she plasters the smirk back on her name. "_Cute_."

"Shut up." I go back to glaring at her, my guilt long forgotten, and turn back to look over at Elena and freeze when I see that both she and Stefan are looking over, Stefan's mouth moving as Elena's frown deepens.

_Great_.

"Excuse me." I mutter to Andie coldly and push past her, heading back over towards the pool table as Elena watches me approach and force a smile. "Hey," I immediately place my hand on her hip and glance at Stefan who is looking at me questionably.

"That's your ex-girlfriend?" Elena asks straight to the point and I immediately send my brother a glare, who then at least has the decency to look a little sheepish and move away slightly.

"She wasn't my girlfriend."

"So your ex _what_? Fling?"

"I guess you could say that…" I place my other hand on her cheek and look at her questioning brown eyes before taking the risk and kissing her slowly, grateful when she hesitantly, but eventually returns the kiss. I pull away and peck her nose before speaking again. "She's nothing, _trust me_." I tell her seriously and watch as she hesitantly nods her head and I make sure to remind myself later to confront my brother on exactly what he has told Elena about my relationship with Andie when we're both alone.

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye Damon?" I immediately cringe and turn around to see Andie walk towards us, a fake smile on her face as she stretches out her hand. "Hi, I'm Andie, you must be Damon's new girlfriend."

"Elena." I watch feeling tense as Elena reluctantly shakes her hand and forces a smile of her own. "And I wouldn't say new girlfriend, we've been together for a while now."

"Oh really?" Andie raises an eyebrow and looks at me pointedly. "That _is_ interesting. How long have you been together?"

"None of your business." I snap at her in annoyance, wrapping my arm back around Elena's waist, feeling how tense she is right now but I squeeze her hip and she relaxes a little.

"Why so defensive, Damon?" she tilts her head to one side and plays with the draw in her drink before looking back at Elena. "We have history, it's…_colourful_."

"It's _over_." I tell her firmly. "Now if you'll excuse us." I lead Elena away, making sure to send Andie one last glare as I do.

"I'll see you tonight Damon!" she calls after me and I can hear the smirk in her voice.

What part of the word _no_ does she not understand?

* * *

"Ok, so _that_ was interesting." I comment as Damon pulls me away from Andie, his hand holding my tightly. "Who exactly is she to you Damon?" I try to keep the annoyance and the jealousy out of my voice, but I can't help it, she was a smug bitch and now I'm pissed off.

Damon leans me towards the bar and motions for one of the available stools for me to sit on and I roll my eyes before doing so, Damon standing beside me with his arm on the back of the stools back rest instead of opting to sit on the one next to me.

"Well?" I ask impatiently.

Damon sighs loudly before placing his other hand on my knee. "She's just a girl."

"Just a girl? A girl you used to…what? Sleep with?"

Damon cringes slightly but nods his head. "Yes." I nod my head, ok, we all have exes, and I can deal with this.

"What did she mean when she said she'd see you tonight?" I can't wait any longer to ask. I need to know.

Damon looks a little nervous before placing his hand that is resting behind me to the back of my neck, stroking the skin there softly under my hair. "She seems to…she uh...ok, so, mine and Andie's relationship didn't exactly end when I moved to Mystic Falls."

"_What_?!" I almost shriek and suddenly I feel sick. What the hell is he saying? My heart starts pounding wildly against my chest as a sickly fear overtakes me. "What the hell does that mean?"

Damon's eyes widen and he immediately steps even closer to me so we are practically flushed together despite me sitting on a stool and him standing. "That came out _wrong_." He curses himself. "I mean…nothing is going on _now_, but…well… every time I came back here to visit, we always ended up hooking up."

My heart rate slows down slightly but the sickly feeling is still there. "Every time?"

"Pretty much." He sighs guiltily. "I'm not proud of it."

"So why does she want to see you tonight? To hook up with you?" I ask him and he nods his head. "But she _knows_ about me! You introduced me to her as your freaking girlfriend, why the hell would she say that if she knows about me? Hell, why would she say that in _front_ of me."

Damon looks a little guilty before speaking. "Girlfriends…boyfriends on her part, well, they've never stopped us in the past." He confesses meekly.

I let out a dry laugh and shake my head, willing myself not to over react, this was before me, before Damon and I even properly got to know each other.

"I told her though, I said to her that things are different this time, that I would never _ever_ cheat on you, that I don't want her anymore, that the only person I want to be with ever again in my life is _you_." He reaches his hand up and caresses my cheek softly and I feel the sickly feeling in my stomach slowly fading away. "Believe me Elena, it's _over_ between Andie and I, she's just history, we haven't been together in…_so long_."

I nod my head slowly and I almost feel the relief radiating off Damon before he leans forward and kisses me softly and slowly on the mouth. "I love you." He mumbles against my lips.

"I love you too." I smile and he smiles back and my heart starts to pound again but this time in a _good_ way.

"Look, we can leave if you want? She's probably going to try and goad you all night; she's a bitch like that."

Not going to lie, getting the hell out of here is sounding very appealing to me right now but Damon hasn't even seen Will and his friends yet, so I shake my head and kiss him quickly before answering. "No, let's stay."

"Are you sure?" he asks hesitantly, his icy blue eyes finding my dark ones.

"Yes." I tell him honestly. "Thank you though."

"Anything for you, beautiful, you know that." He strokes my cheek with his thumb and I smile before leaning forward and kissing him more fiercely this time, my hands tangling in his thick dark hair as he deepens the kiss.

I moan against his mouth, giving him the opportunity to slide his tongue against mine and I run one of my hands down his back slowly before landing it on his backside.

Damon groans against me as I squeeze his ass tightly and I let out a gasp as one of his hands lands on my right breast and he rubs his fingers against my nipple through my thin shirt, making me completely forget where we are as he continues to massage my breast as his other hand slides underneath my shirt, my skin tingling and getting goosebumps, his mouth still pressed against mine hotly, barely giving me time to breath between his open mouthed kisses.

Unfortunately however, our bubble is only one way.

"Salvatore!" a voice interrupts us and Damon pulls away from me with a loud groan and I turn in embarrassment to see Will stood there amused, a girl with red hair stood beside him looking just as amused and almost…_intrigued_, and I immediately flush with embarrassment, the heats rising on my cheeks. "Man, you may be able to get away with displays like that in whatever small Hicksville town you moved too but here in Chicago, there is a thin line between PDA and _that_."

I feel my cheeks heat up even more if that is even possible as I stand up and turn to face them properly.

Damon however doesn't even look phased at all; instead he just rolls his eyes, places his arm around my shoulders. "Yeah whatever man, don't be jealous." He smirks slightly and Will chuckles and shakes his head and I watch as Damon acknowledges the red headed girl who has now moved forward slightly. "Sage."

"Damon Salvatore, long time no see." She winks at him and I frown slightly, wondering if this girl is yet another one of Damon's _exes_.

"This is my girlfriend Elena." He runs his hand down my back from my shoulder before wrapping it around my waist and I watch as Sage almost follows his movements before acknowledging me again.

"It's so great to meet you Elena." She smiles at me and I smile back because unlike earlier with Andie, this girl does seem sincere.

"You too." I shake her hand and Damon smiles for a moment before suggesting we get some drinks and head to a booth.

Apparently both Will and Sage are both 21, so they manage to get us some beers before we move to a booth in the back corner.

We talk, and both Will and Sage tell me lots of different stories about Damon's past, most of them funny and embarrassing ones and I was brought to almost tears with laughter at some of the things they have told me.

Damon just sits beside me, taking it all, every now and then arguing back to explain to me his side of the story or to defend himself. I laugh, and we share kisses, and touches, and it's nice to sit here in this different city, with different people, who know a whole different side to my boyfriend than the people of Mystic Falls.

There's no gang talk, no shooting talk, no Mikaelson talk.

No Katherine talk.

No one here knows that I dated Stefan first, no one here knows about our problems, about our drama.

"Alright, alright!" Damon rolls his eyes at Will. "One game of darts, but that's it, I know how competitive you get!" He leans his head down and kisses me softly on the lips, stroking my face slightly with his finger with a smile before pecking my lips again, and then my nose, and then my forehead. "I won't be long."

I smile and watch him get up and leave; following him with my eyes until he disappears and turn my head back to face Sage who is opposite me, looking at me with a strange look on her face.

"What?" I ask starting to feel a little self-conscious.

"What's your secret, Elena?" she asks simply and I frown confused.

"What do you mean?"

"With Damon…"

My frown deepens. "I don't have a secret…I don't understand what you're getting at here…"

She shakes her head with a smile. "He's so different around you…" she trails and I clench my jaw slightly and I think she immediately notices because she shakes her head again. "No, no, it's not a bad thing, in fact, it's a good thing." She tells me seriously and I immediately relax. "He seems so much happier with you than I have ever seen him before."

I shrug slightly, trying to fight my smile. "Well, he makes me happy too. _So_ happy." I practically gush, not even caring how embarrassing this probably is. "I love him; he is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"And clearly you mean the same to him." She smiles. "I noticed he changed a lot when he came back to visit over summers and the holidays over the past few years, in fact, each time he would come back, he seemed more reserved, still fun, but with an edge about him, and not a very nice one either, he was meaner, and ruthless and didn't seem to care much about consequences more and more every time he visited."

I play with the label on my empty bottle of beer. "He uh…he's been through a lot since he moved back to Mystic Falls."

"I've heard bits and pieces, our family are friends, but…even so, he changed, but now…now he seems more like the old Damon, in fact, he seems _better_."

I smile slightly. "I don't think that is down to me."

"Are you kidding?" she looks at me surprised. "I've been with you two for not even a couple of hours and even I can see how much he adores you, he worships the ground you walk on, Elena, I have never seen any guy act the way he does around you, never mind Damon Salvatore."

I can't help the blush that crosses my cheeks yet again. "Well, I adore him too."

"Good." Sage smiles. "I'm glad he found a girl he can actually be serious with." She says while her eyes linger behind me.

I turn around and look to see where Sage is looking at me and my eyes immediately fall on Andie, standing laughing with two other girls and I immediately frown, almost like she knew we were watching, Andie lifts her eyes up and her own land on mine and I immediately turn around, annoyed at being caught.

"Oh great." Sage sighs loudly. "The She-whore is coming over."

"Hi Sage." Andie slides in alongside her before I can even say anything and I watch as she eyes me up and down for a second. "Ellen, was it?" she asks cattily.

"Elena." I glare at her immediately.

"Right." She smirks. "Damon's new squeeze."

I roll my eyes at her choice of words and decide to just ignore her but unfortunately she doesn't have the same idea. "So…how long have you and Damon known each other?"

I look at her again with a glare. "A while."

"A while?" she raises her eyebrow. "What about dating? You never did answer me earlier."

"Maybe because it's none of your business, Andie." Sage interrupts with a glare and I send her a grateful smile.

Andie however doesn't seem fazed and turns back to face me. "So, how long? A month? Two? Three? A year? How long?"

"Not that I have to answer to you, because I certainly _don't_, but it's been a few months." I tell her coldly.

Andie's smile widens. "A few months huh? That's funny."

"How the hell is that funny?" I glare at her and I watch as Sage's eyes widen slightly and suddenly I feel like I've been left out of something big style.

"Well…because Damon was fucking _me_ just a few months ago too." She shrugs slightly with a smirk and my glare deepens. "Oh honey, did you really think you were special? It's Damon Salvatore, he doesn't do _girlfriends_, or at least, not ones he's committed too." She sends me a mocking sympathetically smile. "Don't worry though, I'm sure I managed to satisfy him in ways that you most definitely couldn't."

"You're lying!" I snarl at her furiously.

"Am I?" she looks amused and I really _really_ fucking hate her and it is taking me entire strength not to leap across the table and knock her senseless and kick her scrawny ass. "Why don't you ask him? Ask Damon when the last time it was that we slept together, and if he answers honestly, which I high doubt, because well it's _Damon_, he'll tell you I'm not lying."

"Fuck you." I hiss at her coldly before standing up and walking away, knowing that if I stuck around for just one more second I wouldn't have been able to control my anger.

I cross the unfamiliar bar and stop when I see Damon stood by the darts board, a large smile on his face as he watches Will take his turn and I gulp slightly because I know that what Andie is saying isn't true.

I _know_ that Damon would never ever cheat on me.

"Hey…" I approach them hesitantly, forcing a smile on my face, trying not to let that horrible bitch's words get to me. "You winning?"

"Of course baby." Damon grins at me proudly and as I get closer I watch as his smile fades. "Elena? What's wrong?"

I shake my head, cursing myself for going straight over here because _of course_ Damon would recognise that I'm upset, he knows me better than anyone else in the world.

"Elena?" he asks impatiently, his fingers pushing hair back from my face. "Baby, talk to me." He sounds concerned.

"I'm fine." I try and force a smile but it doesn't work and he just looks at me pointedly. "It was just that girl Andie."

I watch as a look of anger crosses his face. "That _bitch_, what the hell did she say to you? I'm going to make her fucking _regret_ upsetting you!"

"It doesn't matter, Damon." I shake my head, grabbing his arm as he tries to push past me to go and find her. "Just leave it."

"It matters, Elena, tell me what she said."

"It doesn't matter because I know that she's lying." I place my hand on his cheek. "I know that she's just trying to get to me, you warned me that she'd try and goad me and you're right, she did, but it's ok because I won't let her get to me."

"No." he shakes his head firmly. "That bitch has no right; tell me what she said, Elena."

"Ok, fine." I sigh. "But don't worry, I know she's lying." I tell him reassuringly and watch as he anxiously waits for me to continue. "She said that the two of you only last hooked up a few months ago…"

The second he tenses against my hand I realise that something isn't right.

"Damon?" I ask nervously, that sickly feeling hitting the pit of my stomach again and I watch as he closes his eyes slightly before opening them again, his eyes full of guilt and shame.

"She's not lying, Elena."

* * *

**Sorry to leave it there folks! The next chapter will continue straight where this one left off I promise! :)**

**Thanks for those who reviewed the last chapter, you're all amazing!**

**Thank you for reading, hope you liked it.**

**Until next time! **


	42. Chapter 42

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**So so sorry that it took me this long to update! I really have no excuses except that I've been really busy over Easter with friends and uni work! Things seem to have calmed down a bit now though so hopefully you won't have to wait as long for the next chapter!**

* * *

I watch as Elena's jaw drops at my words and she immediately takes a small step back and I gulp slightly at the look of hurt and betrayal in her eyes.

"You…" she struggles to find her voice and shakes her head quickly, her face looking panicked. "No, you wouldn't."

"Elena, I was hurt and upset…I was in a bad place and besides, you'd only just broken up with Stefan so it's not like I thought I even stood a chance with you, I mean, you'd just accused me of killing Katherine, I was angry and I thought you didn't even know me at all."

I watch as a frown crosses her face. "Wait? When was this?"

"Over winter break, I hooked up with Andie a few times and I regretted it as soon as I got back to Mystic Falls and saw you again, even though we were never together then, and even though I was still determined to keep out of your life, part of me still felt as though I had betrayed you."

Elena sighs and shakes her head, the look of fear slowly being wiped from her face but she still doesn't look happy. "She made it look as if you'd cheated, and when I asked you…it sounded like you were confirming what she was saying. I knew she was lying."

"Elena…you know I'd never cheat on you." I step forward and place my hand on her arm. "You know that."

"I know…" she agrees firmly and I can tell that she is being completely honest. "But when you said she wasn't lying about you two sleeping together…I got scared." She frowns and bites on her lip. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I look around the crowded place before motioning for Elena to follow me, she does, thankfully, but before we make it to the exit Stefan is in front of me grabbing my arm.

"Where are you going?" he asks with a frown, glancing briefly behind me at Elena before turning his attention back on me.

"Outside…"

"You better not be just leaving me here, Damon, you're my ride home!"

I roll my eyes and shove him back a little so he is no longer in my way. "I saw your old friend Lexi around here somewhere, go and get a ride from her, we're leaving." I tell him firmly before pulling Elena past him outside.

"Where are we going, Damon?" Elena asks sounding a little anxious as I pull her towards my car. "Damon?"

"I want to take you somewhere." I tell her with a soft smile. "Trust me, come on."

She pushes a smile back and gets in the car and we sit in a comfortable silence as the radio hums quietly, I can still sense that Elena is pretty tense though, so I reach across and take her hand in mine, grateful when she doesn't pull it away.

After about fifteen minutes of driving I reach my destination and I turn to look at Elena with a smile whose mouth is hanging open slightly.

"This is my favorite spot in this city." I tell her while opening the door and motioning for her to follow, the two of us stepping out into the chilly night air.

This is the place I always used to come too when I needed some space away from Giuseppe and Stefan, it wasn't a very well-known place so they never knew where to find me when I came here. It's at the top of a large bank, and overlooks the city and the water.

"Wow, it's beautiful." She looks out into the bright lights and turns her head to face me with a smile. "Why did you bring me here?"

I sigh and walk towards her, placing my hand on her hip, the other landing on her arm, moving my hand up and down soothingly. "Because I wanted to explain what happened somewhere where we wouldn't be interrupted, besides, I was planning on bringing you here anyway, so why not tonight?" I shrug a little and turn her around so her back is pressed against my front and she is facing the view, my arms wrapping around her waist as I rest my chin on top of her head.

"You don't have to tell me what happened with Andie, Damon, we weren't together then. It's ok." There is a hint of sadness in her voice and it doesn't sit well with me at all.

"No, I need to say this." I take a deep breath. "At Christmas my Dad shipped me off here to stay with my grandparents pretty much as soon as I got out of the hospital, and to be honest, I was more than willing to go. I was in a bad place….I mean…apart from the obvious with you and Stefan…well…because of _you know_." I cringe slightly, really not liking to bring it up because I know how awful it makes Elena feel and how much she regrets what happened. "I had just found that new piece of evidence that showed that Katherine was killed from the gun that _I_ took there that night, that I brought, and it made me feel ten times worse about the whole situation…it just brought back some bad feelings, feelings that I thought I was over but apparently not…" I trail off into silence.

"What kind of feelings?" Elena asks softly as she places her hands on top of mine that are wrapped around her.

"Guilt mostly," I admit. "I couldn't help but feel that it was all my fault…my fault that Katherine was involved, my fault that she died, all because I couldn't let things go with Klaus, all because I started some stupid immature gang war that went too far. She didn't deserve to die, and no matter how much I blamed Klaus, I blamed myself more."

"But it wasn't your fault, Damon." She tells me firmly while squeezing my fingers that are resting on her stomach. "Katherine shouldn't have even been there, but it was Klaus she was there for, not you. Her being there wasn't down to you; you shouldn't have to carry around that guilt."

I stay silent because no matter what anyone says, even Elena, I'm still going to feel guilty about her death for the rest of my life, but that's something I'm going to have to deal with over time, something that I think I am finally starting to be able to work with.

It doesn't _hurt_ so much anymore.

"So when I came to Chicago," I continue, deciding not to answer Elena. "I had all those old feelings back and the new ones from you and Stefan, and it was too much, so I lashed out in lots of ways, and I shut myself off, I didn't want to _feel_. The worst thing is, I was falling in love with you…and that's why I slept with Andie." I cringe as Elena tenses slightly but I continue anyway because I need to tell her everything, no matter how much it hurts the both of us. "I wanted to forget all about you, Elena, I wanted to push any kind of feelings I had for you away, I didn't want to _want _you anymore, so I hooked up again with Andie again, on more than one occasion, even after I heard about you and Stefan breaking up, even after part of me wondered if I had something to do with it. Even after listening to your voicemails and reading your text messages, that just made it worse, because that just made me feel again and that's what I didn't want, so I kept on fucking her to forget about you." I confess, feeling the shame take over my body.

Elena turns around and I immediately feel like the biggest asshole on the planet when I notice there are tears streaming down her face.

"Elena-"

Before I can continue however she cuts me off and places her hands on my cheeks. "I am _so_ sorry."

"What?" I ask confused. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"For what happened before Christmas, for accusing you of killing Katherine, I wish I could have taken it all back, I wish I never even for a second believed Stefan." She leans forward and kisses me softly on the lips. "That's the biggest mistake of my life, Damon, and I am so so sorry that I made you feel that way, that I hurt you so much."

"No, no." I shake my head. "It wasn't your fault, Elena, I was…" I close my eyes for a second, trying to find the right words. "I hadn't dealt with that guilt properly, and if anything, I guess it kind of helped me, I got it out of my system."

"No, stop trying to make me feel better." She frowns at me while shaking her head, almost like she is annoyed at me.

I can't help but smile. "I'm not, Elena, I'm just being honest with you. You have nothing to be sorry for. That part of my life, it's over, I never want to have to go back there and to be honest I don't think I will ever have too."

Elena smiles a little at my words and moves her hands so they are resting behind my neck, her fingers lightly fiddling with my hair.

"I just wish Andie never said what she did to you, I hate that she thinks she can get to us, that she thinks she would even be just a blip on my radar when she is _nothing_ next to you."

"It doesn't matter what she thinks." Elena presses her body flat against mine, her lips milometers from my own. "She doesn't matter, no one else does."

Her dark brown eyes are glistening and she's never looked so beautiful, I lean forward and press my mouth against hers in a slow sensual kiss, my grip on her tightening.

"Why don't we go back to the house?" Elena murmurs against my mouth and I grin and slip my hand underneath her top as she presses kisses along my jaw.

"There's just no time for that baby." I smirk and before she can say anything else I lift her up and carry her to the backseat of the car.

* * *

We've been successful in hiding away in Damon's bedroom here in his grandparents mansion for most of the morning, Damon insisting that I want to leave my introductions with his family until the last possible moment, before we are eventually summoned downstairs to have lunch with the Salvatore clan.

I watch as Damon huffs as he fastens the buttons to his dark blue shirt, Giuseppe insisting that this was a semi-formal affair and I slip into a nice white summer dress that I am thankful I packed.

"Will you zip me up?" I ask Damon through the mirror and watch as he smiles slowly, and nods his head before coming up behind me and slowly pulling the zip at the back of my dress upwards, his fingers brushing against my bare skin, making me shiver.

"You look beautiful." He leans down and kisses the skin by my collarbone before trailing slow pecks up my neck.

"Thank you." I blush slightly before turning around, his arms landing on my hips.

Damon kisses me slowly on the mouth before pulling away with a sigh. "I think we both need a drink if we want to get through this."

"Are you sure it's going to be that bad?" I ask skeptically, knowing that Damon does have the tendency to exaggerate sometimes.

"Yes!" he tells me firmly. "Just imagine three Giuseppe's, a stepford wife and bratty kids, all arguing over who has the most money and power." He rolls his eyes slightly. "They drive me crazy."

"It'll only be a couple of hours, right?" I run my hands down his arms.

"That's a long time." He pouts and I can't help but let out a small laugh and lean up and kiss him quickly.

"We'll get through it, come on." I take his hand in mine and we leave the bedroom and head down the long hallway towards the stairs.

Damon was right; this place makes the Salvatore house back in Mystic Falls look like a shabby town house.

Damon leads me into the dining room and I can immediately hear raised voices. I notice Damon roll his eyes beside me and I look to the corner of the large room to see three man arguing about something I can't catch onto.

"There are the two other older generation of Salvatore's with Daddy Dearest." Damon whispers into my ear and I nod my head in acknowledgement. "Getting along charmingly as always."

"Must be something about Salvatore brothers." I smirk at him and I watch as a small grin falls on his lips as he glances over at Stefan who is stood by the table in a sulk, looking like he wants to be here just as much as Damon.

"Damon!" We turn around to see a middle aged woman walk towards us, dyed blonde hair flowing down but her big gold earrings shining through her locks. Her tight red dress stands out as do her high heels which I swear should be impossible to walk through.

"Trophy wife number two." Damon whispers into my ear just before she approaches us.

"And you must be the girlfriend." She eyes me up and down for a moment and I feel very uncomfortable.

"That's me," I force a smile and hold out my hand. "Elena."

She eyes my hand for a second before taking it anyway but I can see it's forced.

"Aren't you going to introduce me, Damon?"

Damon plasters a fake smile. "Apologies, Elena, this is Amanda, she's my Aunt."

"Aunt makes me feel so old!" she presses her hand against her chest and I swear that Damon snorts beside me but he does well to hide it.

Before we can talk any further, Giuseppe orders everyone to sit down for lunch and we take our seats and I look around amazed as waiters and waitresses walk in the room carrying our lunch and placing them down on the table in front of us.

This is surreal.

After I've been introduced to everyone in the family, as well as a few others who have joined us who are 'family friends' of the Salvatore's, or as Damon whispered in my ear, their highest paid members of staff. In fact, Damon spends the entire meal giving me a run by of his commentary of his family, and I spend half of my time hiding behind my massively over-sized glass of water, trying to hide my smile and stop my giggles as Damon continues to mock everyone sat along this large table.

"So…Damon, managing to stay out of trouble, are you?" One of Damon's uncle's, I think he is called Bruno, asks across from us.

"Of course, sir." Damon plasters a fake a smile.

"Damon's applying for college." Giuseppe joins in the conversation from a few seats down.

"Oh really?" Bruno looks at my boyfriend. "So you're not going to come straight into the family business then?"

I immediately feel Damon tense beside me. "Nope."

Bruno glances over at Giuseppe who I watch confused as he takes a large swig of his whiskey. "We haven't discussed that yet."

"Discussed what?" Damon interrupts with an edge to his tone.

"Nothing, it doesn't need to be brought up right now." Giuseppe waves him off firmly.

"No, I want to know." He glances between his Dad and his Uncle and I take a sip of my water awkwardly, the tension in the room getting heavier.

"No, you'll show some respect and not question me." Giuseppe snaps at him in annoyance and Damon mutters something under his breath before leaning back in his chair and I sigh in relief when I realize that he is temporarily dropping the subject.

I discreetly place my hand on his thigh under the table and squeeze it reassuringly, watching as Damon sends me a grateful smile but I can tell that he still isn't happy.

The rest of the lunch goes by without much more to shout about, but the tension could still be cut with a knife and when Damon excuses us from the dining room pretty much the second we have finished eating, I can tell that Giuseppe had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something about it.

"Well…that was…intense." I sigh as I follow Damon out into the huge backyard.

"I know what that's about." Damon grunts in annoyance as I follow him across to the big water fountain that is placed in the middle of the garden. "They want me to go straight into the family business." I can see how agitated he looks and I immediately wrap an arm around his waist while the other gently touches his cheek.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do." I tell him reassuringly. "Besides, we're going to New York in a few months; you won't have to put up with these things for much longer."

Damon closes his eyes for a few seconds before turning his head away. "What if I don't get in, Elena?" he asks quietly. "Then what?"

"You will!" I tell him firmly, wishing that he had the confidence in himself that I have in him.

"But what if I don't?" he turns back to face me and my heart sinks at the look of fear in his eyes. "I don't want to be a part of that world, Elena; I don't want a house so big that you need to use the house phone to contact the people living with you! I don't want to work for the family business; I don't want to do any of this!"

"And you won't have too!"

"But if I don't get into college I won't have a choice, Elena!" he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Even if I tell them I'm moving to New York anyway, I know they have offices there, they'll just base me there, I know that they will."

"And I told you, you don't have to do anything you don't want too, Damon." I place my other hand on his cheek. "It's your life."

"I know," he sighs. "I just…my grandfather built up this massive company, and now that he's gone…part of me feels guilty that I don't want to be a part of this…"

"I'm sure that he'll just want you to be happy."

Damon smiles. "You never met him, Elena, he's basically an older generation version of my Dad." He shakes his head slightly. "Thank you though."

"Look, you don't need to think about any of that, because you're going to get into college," I move my hands from his cheeks and wrap them around his neck. "And we're both going to move to New York and we are both going to party and study and do whatever college students do for four years, _together_, and then we'll graduate, and who knows, maybe we can travel for a little while before we get jobs, jobs that _we want_, not jobs that we feel like we need to get or that you feel you need to take just because you have a really pretentious last name." Damon chuckles at this and I can't help but smile at the sound. "Ok?"

"That sounds a little too good to be true." Damon smiles softly at me but I shake my head and kiss him softly before pulling away.

"We can do this. _You_ can do this." Damon stays silent and I kiss him again reassuringly. "I promise you, Damon, this can happen…if you want it too."

"Of course I want it too." He sighs "I'm just scared that I'm going to let you down."

"You could never do that," I smile softly at him. "I love you."

He smiles again, almost shyly and I press my lips against his softly. "I love you too." He mumbles against my mouth. "How about we get out of this house? Too many people with pretentious last names for me to deal with." He smirks at me and I laugh and nod my head in agreement.

* * *

I hold onto Elena's hand tightly as I lead her into The Barn, the second we walk in however I feel those eyes on me again and turn to the side to see Andie smirking while looking over at us. The second we make eye contact, she winks and lifts her hand to give what I think should be a seductive wave.

I roll my eyes and look back at Elena, hoping she hasn't noticed but from the steely look in her gaze as she glares back to where Andie is standing I realize that I'm not so lucky.

"Ignore her," I press my lips against her cheek.

"I'll try." She sighs and I walk us towards a table, pulling out a chair for Elena who smiles softly at me as I push her into the table.

"Hey Damon."

I cringe immediately at the voice and feel a hand run down my back and I immediately tense and move out of the way, turning around to see Andie standing with a smirk on her lips.

"Elena," she looks down at my girlfriend who is sat at the table looking up at her with a glare.

"You're not wanted, leave." I hiss at her angrily before Elena has the chance to reply.

"Oh Damon, you hurt me." Andie pouts and reaches her hand out but I swat it away immediately. "Fine," she sighs loudly. "Be like this," she turns her attention back onto Elena. "Don't worry sweetheart, he'll be back in my bed once you've ran back to that small little town you crawled out from." She turns around and strolls away before either of us can reply and I grunt in annoyance.

"I hate her!" Elena snaps furiously. "Who the hell does she think she is?"

I turn back and watch Andie walk into the bathroom before turning back to face Elena. "Do you trust me?"

Elena looks surprised by my question but nods her head anyway. "Of course I do, Damon."

I nod my head and glance back at towards the bathroom. "Then I'll be right back, I'm going to end this." I lean down and kiss the top of her head before heading off into the direction Andie just strutted off too.

"There once was a girl called Andie, who lived in a house with no family, so she fucked random boys to fill in that void and turned into a big fat whore."

Andie looks at me through the mirrors of the bathroom and rolls her eyes. "Very poetic, Damon."

I shrug and walk so I am standing behind her, my eyes on hers through her reflection in the mirror. "So…that was a smart move you pulled last night with Elena, you know? Twisting the truth to hurt her, trying to make it out as if I'd cheated."

"Well, didn't you?" Andie doesn't break eye contact.

"You know fine well that I didn't. You know that Elena and I weren't together then, you know that I was single." I take a step closer. "You just did it to get to us, to try and savor some of your dignity after I rejected you."

"Whatever Damon." She finally breaks eye contact and looks down at her hands before turning around and trying to push past me towards the bathroom door but I slam the door shut over her shoulder and grab her arm tightly, swinging her back around to face me.

"Going after Elena? Wrong move!" I snarl at her furiously, just thinking back to the hurt look in Elena's eyes last night makes me want to do unspeakable things.

"Let go of me, Damon!"

I ignore her and grab onto her other arm to keep her still. "Not until you listen to me." I hiss coldly. "You're a heartless bitch, Andie, and you're going to make sure you stay the hell away from Elena while she's here, got it? You hurt her again and I will hurt you back twice as hard!" she glares back at me furiously and I squeeze her arms tighter. "I'm not joking around here! I've done things in the past, things I'm not proud of and I told myself that I'd never go back there, but I'd be more than willing to do them all again to you if you don't stay the hell away from me and my girlfriend, you hear me?" I practically spit out the words into her face and I watch as she gulps slightly, tears in her eyes before finally pulling herself away from me.

"Loud and clear, Damon." She hisses at me coldly, her voice shaky before she quickly leaves the bathroom.

I sigh and run my hand through my hair, wondering if I came on a bit too strong, but she's just infuriating me so much. Elena has been through enough already these past few months, the last thing she needs is sly digs from Andie while she's here, finally getting a break from Mystic Falls.

* * *

The funeral on Saturday comes and goes and honestly, it wasn't the best day that I've had. The Salvatore's are one estranged family, and I'm not even talking about Damon, Stefan and Giuseppe for once.

The two other brothers from the older generation came to blows at the wake, over what, I have no idea, and Damon didn't seem too keen to get involved so we just kept our distance, despite the harsh words that were swapped and the fists that were thrown.

The day was long, and I hated every minute of it but I was glad to be there for Damon, despite the memories it brought back for me, because I could see that he was upset.

The wake dragged on for hours and hours, and hundreds of people filled the Salvatore mansion and I got introduced to far too many people that I lost count after the first ten, from distant relatives to business associates.

I have to hand it to them though, despite how much Damon especially; hates social events back in Mystic Falls, he and Stefan played the respectable grandsons perfectly. I know that Giuseppe had a quiet word with Damon this morning, and I think that the tension from lunch yesterday has died down too because Damon did seem much more relaxed when his mind wasn't on what was going on around us.

I walk into Damon's bedroom and pull off my black cardigan over my dress before slipping out of my heels and letting out a tired sigh. All I want to do is crawl into bed, cuddle up to Damon and sleep for a hundred hours, but unfortunately I have a flight to catch tomorrow morning to take me back to Mystic Falls.

I am glad to be going back though, because if this trip has told me one thing, it's that I'm glad to be a Gilbert.

I just wish Damon was coming with me, but sadly he has to stay for the reading of the will that won't be read out until Monday, which means he won't be coming home until at least Tuesday. As much as I want to stay here with him, I promised Jenna that I would be back before School starts on Monday and I don't want to push my luck with her any more than I have done already by just coming here.

"Hey," Damon slips into the room, a tired smile on his face. "You ok?" he closes the distance between us and rubs his hands up and down my arms.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

Damon shrugs and wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him and I sigh into his chest, my fingers playing with the buttons of his white shirt as my other hand slips underneath his suit jacket.

"I know this has brought back some bad memories for you," he says softly into my ear, his fingers running through my hair soothingly. "And I just wanted to say thank you." He kisses the side of my head. "For coming, for being here for me, I know how hard this must have been for you and you did it anyway. You're the best."

I pull back and offer him a sincere smile. "You know that I'd do anything for you."

"I know." He smiles. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I reply and stifle a yawn and I watch as Damon chuckles when I try to hide it.

"Come on then beautiful, I think it's time for bed." He smiles softly at me and I nod my head in agreement.

It's been a long day.

* * *

I let out a loud sigh as I walk into den to see my family, close business associates and lawyers all sat around.

I take a seat on one of the long sofas beside Stefan and force a smile. "You ok?" I ask him curiously because I know he was upset at the funeral yesterday but I never really got a chance to talk to him about it.

"Yeah," Stefan runs his hand down his face tiredly. "Just can't wait for this whole trip to be over with."

"You and me both brother." I mumble tiredly, already missing Elena who flew back to Mystic Falls yesterday.

Today is the will reading, and hopefully that means I get to leave this place tomorrow. To be honest, I don't even know why Stefan and I had to stay here, our grandparents made a trust fund for us since we were little kids so I know that all we will be getting from the will, will be what we already know about.

"Ok, everyone is here?" The inheritance lawyer looks around before going into a big speech about how we must honor and respect my grandparents wishes and all that, to be honest, I've lost interest in this whole thing.

I don't know how long it's been, but there are just lots and lots of discussion about business shares, who is getting which part of the company etc.

He lists off mine and Stefan's trust fund, as well as the ones they made up for our three other cousins who are too young to be involved in this discussion and were probably pawned off to their nannies.

Once the business parts of the will is over, the lawyer then goes on to discuss our grandparents estate as well as their millions that they have left behind in various savings accounts.

"Ok," the lawyer goes through different properties that they own, beach houses in the Hamptons, in California, our family home in Italy, as well as a vacation house in the south of France. In fact, the only property that hasn't been mentioned is the one we are sitting in, which has already been left too equally to my father and my uncles.

I roll my eyes at Stefan who smirks slightly in amusement as the list goes on and on, and soon they are discussing bank accounts and savings in there and I wonder why he hasn't said who has gotten what yet from this section. I lean forward and pick up a glass of water, taking a sip out of it just as the lawyer starts up his next sentence.

"So that is all of Mr and Mrs Salvatore's previous properties mentioned, as well as their money in both of their saving and personal accounts to be left and shared out equally between Damon, Stefan, Eric, Thomas and Maria Salvatore."

I literally choke on my drink.

"What?!" One of my uncles jumps to his feet. "_ALL_ of it?!"

The lawyer looks shocked by his reaction and looks back down to the paperwork in front of him. "Yes Mr Salvatore, that was Angelo and Camilla's wishes."

"But…but…those are worth _millions_!" he looks flabbergasted and I can't even breathe because I am too shocked. "And that's just from the properties alone!"

I glance over at my Dad who looks just as stunned as I feel. "How much money are there in those accounts?" he asks curiously, but unlike my Uncle Bruno, his tone is much less angry.

"I am not at place to say sir, they have already been equally distributed between the grandchildren, as well as the worth of the properties should they choose to sell. Each of their trust funds that were made can be accessed now from the age of 18, which is why Damon and Stefan need to be here to sign the papers releasing the money to them both."

"And what about the rest of the money?" Giuseppe asks and I frown a little confused, wondering why he is so interested but I am too shocked and surprised by all of this to say anything, besides, I don't even know how any of this works.

The lawyer flicks through some papers before looking up. "The properties are to be released to them immediately, however the money is to be released in installments starting from the age of 21 right up until the age of 40."

I blink and turn to look at Stefan who, if possible, looks even more surprised than I do.

"So what you're saying here is…" Bruno jumps back into the conversation. "Is that my eight year old daughter has just become a freaking millionaire?!" he asks in disbelief and my eyes widen.

A chuckle from beside me makes the room fall into silence and I turn to look at Stefan who is now laughing.

"How the hell is this funny?!" Bruno looks at him in disbelief but I can't help the smile that crosses my lips.

"Because…you're eight year old daughter has more money than you." He states simply and the roar of laughter immediately escapes from my lips before I can stop it and we both immediately fall into fits of laughter.

"Do you see this?!" Bruno practically screams at the lawyer. "This is where our family estate is going too?! _CHILDREN_!"

"Bruno." I'm surprised when my father stands up and crosses the room. "This should make you happy, your daughter has enough money to potentially support her for the rest of her life."

"But-"

"But nothing." Giuseppe stands firm and I'm surprised to see him defending us for once. "This is what Mother and Father wanted, lets respect their wishes and continue with this reading."

I sit in shock for the rest of the time, while the lawyer nervously says who my Grandfathers cars and my Grandmothers jewels are going too, all worth a lot, but nowhere near the amount we have just inherited.

Once the will has been read properly, Stefan and I sign papers that immediately release our trust fund too us since we are both 18 and over.

We walk outside and I shake my head in disbelief, still not believing that this is happening. "Our lives are going to change…_so much_." Stefan gawps in shock and I smile and shake my head firmly.

"Nah, not mine brother."

"How can you say that?" Stefan turns to face me in shock. "We're _literally_ millionaires now, Damon!" the smile falls to his lips at the words.

I shrug and stuff my hands into my suit pockets. "I mean, you're right in the sense that we no longer will have to worry about anything money wise, we're set for life…but…my life isn't going to change, I'm not going to change and go crazy just because I have some money in my pocket. Sure, it'll be great to buy things that I couldn't afford beforehand, to buy a nice car, to buy Elena nice gifts just because I can, but…I'm not going to turn into them." I nod back to the house where Giuseppe is stood arguing with his brothers, Bruno still fuming about most of the inheritance being left to us grandkids.

"Look at them," Stefan scoffs in agreement. "They are owned by money, it rules them, drives them. There whole life revolves around it"

"Let's make a deal, brother." I smile at him. "Let's promise that no matter what, we won't turn out like those douche bags."

Stefan grins and nods his head. "Deal." He stops and smirks for a moment. "But only after I buy a brand new Aston Martin."

I laugh loudly and nod my head in agreement before we slap hands. "Shit." I breathe out between my laughs.

This is actually happening.

* * *

**This story is coming to its end I'm afraid! A few more chapters I think, maybe 5 or 6 depending on what happens!**

**Thanks to everyone for reading and a bigger thank you to all of you who took the time to review, follow and favorite You're all awesome and I appreciate every one of you!**

**Until next time! :)**


	43. Chapter 43

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**A little Damon/Stefan scene in this chapter has been purely inspired by a scene that happens in How I Met Your Mother; let me know if you've spotted it! I'm sure if you're a fan of the show, you will immediately!**

* * *

I look discreetly down at my phone that is hidden under my desk and sigh in annoyance at the text Damon has just sent me, because apparently he is going to have to stay in Chicago for the rest of this week and maybe over the next weekend and that is something I am definitely not happy with.

I'm still in shock over the bombshell that Damon dropped on me over the phone last night about how much money was left to him and his cousins in his grandparents will, I mean…he doesn't know the exact numbers yet, but what he does know is that it's an _insanely_ large amount of money.

Both he and Stefan agreed with their father that they would keep the news of their new found wealth quiet, which I actually agree with, and although Damon has told me about it, I promised him before he even had to ask that I wouldn't tell a soul. I know that some people react differently to people who get in these situations, it's true what they say, money does change people.

Not me though.

I love Damon just as much as I did before he became a 19 year old millionaire. It really doesn't change anything for me, and I know Damon enough to know that he wouldn't let his inheritance change him either.

I just wish he would come home.

I shove my phone back into my jeans pocket and look up just as the bell sounds loudly signalling the end of class and before I can gather all my books together, Miss Flemming, or shall I say Isobel, is calling my name to stay behind in class.

I gulp immediately, because this will be the first time that we will have been alone since our talk in my house a couple of weeks ago. I've seen her since, obviously, she's my freaking science teacher, but never alone. She's done her bit when I asked for space and so far she's never addressed me directly unless it was something to do with school work.

I notice Bonnie lagging behind the rest of my classmates as they quickly rush out of the room, eager to get out of here to probably spend some time with their friends between classes and I just wish that I could be in there shoes right now. I catch my best friends eye and she sends me a supporting glance which I immediately appreciate before I watch her leave, shutting the door behind her.

"What's this about?" I ask nervously as I stand up, my hand leaning down on my desk beside me. "I have another class soon."

"Elena," she walks two steps towards me but then stops, looks down for a moment before finally looking back at me. "I just wanted to see how you are."

"I'm fine." I answer simply.

"It's been a few weeks now since we last spoke about me…well…about you being my daughter." I cringe immediately at the sentence and I think she notices because she turns her head away slightly. "I was just hoping that maybe we could meet some time after school to talk things through properly."

"What's there to talk about?" I ask seriously. "You told me what happened; I accepted it, and now I'm moving on with my life."

"Elena," she looks at me sadly and I almost feel guilty. "Please."

"I'm sorry but…you've had nearly 18 years to think things through, I've barely had a month, so I'm sorry that I'm just not ready to sit down with you again anytime soon."

"I'm trying my best here, you asked for space so I gave you space, but I know that school is almost over for you and then you will be moving to God knows where for college and I'm just scared that I won't ever get the chance to know you."

I gulp slightly when I notice tears in her eyes and I shuffle awkwardly on my feet. "I got into Columbia." I murmur almost shyly.

"You did? Well done, I was wondering if that letter I passed on to you was good news." I watch as she smiles widely and takes another step towards me. "Elena that's amazing…congratulations."

"Thank you."

"So…you'll be moving to New York then?" her smile fades slightly.

"Yup."

"New York is a lot different to Mystic Falls."

I shrug. "I know, but I'm looking forward to it. Besides, Damon is moving there with me so I won't be alone.

"Oh he is?" she looks surprised.

"Yeah, he's applied to NYU. He hasn't heard back from them yet but I know that he'll be fine."

"You sound confident."

"I am." I state firmly. "I know he's smart enough."

We fall into an awkward silence and I look down at my watch, praying for the time to move faster so the bell saves me and I get to go to my next class.

"I'm sure you'll love it there," she smiles softly at me, breaking the silence and I nod my head, unsure of what else to stay.

Thankfully, time is on my side for once and the bell rings and soon students are piling into the classroom and I cough awkwardly and walk past Isobel towards the door, I turn around before I leave and can't help but feel a little guilty at the disheartened look on her face but I push it to the back of my mind and leave.

* * *

"Stefan! Pack a bag brother, we're driving back to Mystic Falls." I grin excitedly as I barge into his bedroom without knocking, an empty case in my hands before throwing it on the floor by his bed.

"What?" Stefan swings around in his desk chair and I can see that he has been doing school work. "Are you serious? That's like a twelve hour drive!"

"Yup." I shrug casually, and pull out a set of keys in my pocket before jiggling them about. "Take a look outside." I smirk and Stefan raises his eyebrow at me curiously before standing up and walking towards the window and opening his curtains and looking out.

"Wait is that…" he turns around, his eyes wide in surprise.

"My old Camero? Damn right that's it!" I smirk happily.

"How the hell…I don't understand."

"Well after the whole stealing Daddy's gun fiasco and you know, being involved in a shooting and getting arrested and all that…Giuseppe confiscated it and got it sent over here to stay in the garage in the old cabin in Oak Creek where good old Pops used to go fishing with his war buddies, knowing that I'd never go there to find it." I shrug before a smirk crosses my lips. "Guess who now owns the cabin in Oak Creek?"

Stefan's smile widens. "You do."

"That's right brother!" I grin happily and clap my hands together briefly. "Got a call yesterday asking what I was to do with the vehicle stored there since it wasn't down in the will, obviously, because it belongs to _me_. So I then got Will and some of my old buddies to drive up there with me first thing this morning to bring it back."

"Does Dad know?" I shake my head as a no. "He's going to be pissed when he finds out."

I shrug casually. "What's he gonna do? Cut me off? Screw it, my probation ends in two weeks, school in a month, and then I can go wherever the hell I want without him and Sheriff Forbes monitoring me or saying a damn thing about it." I throw my keys in the air before catching them again. "So, what do you say? Wanna get out of this joint?" I smirk.

Stefan looks happy for a moment before wariness takes over. "Are you sure it's ok to drive for so long? It's a long way."

"Yes!" I answer immediately, feeling a little offended that he doesn't trust my baby. "That beauty is made of pure steel!"

"Then sure," Stefan smiles. "We gonna leave tomorrow?"

"No." I scoff. "We leave as soon as you've packed, no arguments. I want to surprise Elena and get back to Mystic Falls ASAP, so that means no waiting around!"

"But if we leave now we'll be driving through most of the night."

I shrug. "Less traffic, _whatever_, come on baby bro, move your ass!" I grin as I leave his bedroom and head back to my own to start packing, eager to get back to Mystic Falls as soon as possible, because I cannot wait to see the look on Elena's face when she sees me back three days earlier than planned.

Plus, we really do _need_ to christen my Camaro.

* * *

"So I need help in picking a theme for prom." Caroline gets straight down to business as I sit across from her in the Grill, Bonnie sat beside me looking just as disinterested as I'm feeling.

"Why do we even need to have a theme?" I ask casually but Caroline looks completely mortified by my answer.

"Why do we even-? Elena! Are you serious?!" she looks at me in disbelief. "You've been hanging around Damon too much." She waves me off. "Bonnie, any suggestions, sensible ones _please_!"

I roll my eyes and Bonnie glances at me a little unsurely before answering. "I'm not sure Care…"

"Urgh!" Caroline groans loudly. "You two are absolutely no help at all! This is why we need to have a Prom committee instead of the Principle just insisting that I should take charge of it!"

"Well, you are Miss Mystic Falls, isn't it your job?" Bonnie replies warily and Caroline just glares at her.

"Oh dear Caroline, are you having trouble planning our prom?" Rebekah approaches the table with a smirk. "Maybe you could use my help?"

"No." Caroline scowls at her immediately. "Nobody needs your help, Rebekah. Besides, it's not even your prom!"

"Well actually, I'm going with Lance as his date!" she replies with a matter of fact tone, Lance being a popular senior and a jock in our class.

"Still no!" Caroline snaps at her.

Rebekah glares back at her in annoyance and I watch her for a moment, thinking back to Damon's words about her the other week when she came back to school and he tried to help her.

If _Damon_ can learn to move past everything that has happened with her family then so can everybody else.

"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea?" I throw the comment in casually before I change my mind and watch as Caroline turns to look at me in horror.

"_What_? Are you serious?"

"Yeah Gilbert," Rebekah looks just as shocked as Caroline, although there is a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "What's your angle?"

"There is no angle." I defend myself and look back at my best friend. "I just think that she'd be better help in organising this thing than me and Bonnie seem to be."

"That's because you don't listen to me, Elena! You spend every second on that damn thing," she reaches over and snatches my phone out of my hand before I can even protest. "Texting Damon, and when you're not texting him you're thinking about him and swooning and pining over him and to be honest, Elena, it's getting kind of boring!"

I glare at her angrily. "I am not swooning over him!"

"Elena," Bonnie joins in with a smile. "You sat completely silent today for an entire hour at lunch with a smile on your face without taking your eyes away from that screen. That's swooning."

Rebekah snorts at this with a smirk and mutters something under her breath and I send her an angry glare. This is what I get for trying to be nice to her?

"We get it," Caroline speaks up before I can argue my case. "You miss your boyfriend, but it's only been two days since you last saw him so can you please just actually give us your full attention for _once_." I send her one last glare before sighing and giving in.

"Fine." I mutter in annoyance.

"Great!" Caroline beams. "So, prom themes!" she clasps her hands together and I watch as Rebekah slides into the booth beside her and I guess that means she's staying for this.

"How about a fairy tale theme?" Rebekah suggests and I immediately cringe.

"Urgh, _no_!" Caroline looks disgusted by that idea, thankfully. "That is so tacky and cliché…" she then goes off into a tirade and I sigh and look around the fairly crowded grill, wondering how the hell I managed to get myself roped into this.

* * *

Why the hell did I think this would be a good idea?

A twelve hour car ride with me and my brother dearest? Two months ago, this would be my idea of absolute hell, like seriously, the torture I got from Klaus would have sounded more appealing to me than spending time in a confined space with my brother, but I figured that since me and Stefan have been getting along a lot more lately, especially over the past two weeks, we could do this with no problems.

I was wrong.

"Stop changing the station, Stefan! Your taste in music _sucks_!" And it does, it's even worse than Elena's!

"Shut up, Damon! You've been in charge of the music this entire ride so far!" he sulks and tries to fiddle with my radio again but I swot his hand away and he moves back into his seat in annoyance. "This sucks, why can't you have a CD player like any normal person? No one even uses cassette tapes anymore."

"Because this car is _vintage_, brother." I roll my eyes at him.

"_Old_, more like." He huffs before opening up the dashboard and looking at my things inside. I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to the road.

Three hours down, nine to go.

I can do this.

However, the sound of what sounds like my old cassette player turning on makes my eyes widen in panic and I turn my head to look at Stefan horrified. "What the hell did you just do?!"

"What?" Stefan looks startled by my outburst just as the instrumental start to the song I have grown to detest builds in. A smile crosses Stefan's face. "Oh my god, you have the Proclaimers 500 miles in your car?!" he laughs loudly and I let go of the wheel with my right hand and sock him in the arm. "Oy!"

"You idiot! The tape player is broke; it took me an entire freaking _year_ to get that tape out of there! Well done asshole!" I cringe as the song kicks in, lyrics that I have played over and over in my head, music that I still had in my head when I was trying to sleep every night. "And I didn't choose put this song on, a girl made it for me after I slept with her in sophomore year and it's been fucking haunting me ever since!"

Stefan rubs his arm in pain. "Oh come on, I'm sure it's not that bad." He tries to skip to the next song but 500 Miles just starts to play all over again. "Why won't it change?" he asks confused.

"Because it's _broke_." I hiss at him in annoyance. "The tape _sticks_, that's the only song that plays, and now, thanks to _YOU_, that's all the music I'm going to have playing in my beloved baby for god knows how long!"

"Oh my god," Stefan chuckles and shakes his head in amusement. "This is brilliant!" he lets the song play out and it starts all over again, and sure, he might be amused now but I know it's going to change after hearing the damn song on repeat for another nine freaking hours.

* * *

"Elena, have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday yet?" Jenna asks curiously as we sit around the table for dinner.

I sigh and shake my head. "Can we not talk about birthday plans? Or any kind of plans, Caroline has been driving me up the wall all day trying to start organizing Prom, I don't want to think about any kind of event for at least another 24 hours."

Alaric chuckles amused as he digs into his food. "Oh come on, you must be excited. It's your 18th, it's special."

"Besides, your birthday is before prom so that comes first planning wise." Jenna agrees with Alaric.

"I don't know Jenna…it's been such a long weird year, I'm kind of glad to just not be seventeen anymore. A lot has happened, especially in the last couple of months."

"All the more reason to celebrate!" Jenna argues. "Surely you've thought about doing _something_."

I shrug. Honestly, between the whole Kol and Klaus fiasco, the revelation about Isobel being my mother and then Damon having to go to Chicago, I haven't really had time to think about plans for my birthday.

"To be fair, she has had a lot going on." Jeremy joins in the conversation, probably sensing my discomfort and I send him a grateful smile.

"Ok well all that drama is over with now, so I'm going to make sure you have the birthday that you deserve." Jenna tells me determinedly and I immediately get worried.

"Jenna please don't make a big thing out of this, I literally just want to do something small, with just you guys, Damon and the girls." I sigh. "And Matt." I add as an afterthought.

"Elena…"

"Please." I practically plead with her with my eyes. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Honestly, the thought of turning eighteen right now is scary, and it makes me sad to know that I will be doing it without my parents by my side. My _real_ parents that is, the ones who actually raised me, who cared about me, who loved me.

* * *

Stefan slams his fist against his thigh in annoyance before reaching across and turning the stereo off in a huff and I smirk in satisfaction because I knew it had been annoying him for a while now but he was trying to hold off to get to me.

Too bad I have far more experience in stubbornness than he does.

Even if it did take him another three fucking hours!

Just six more hours to go.

We fall into a silence that I can't tell is awkward or not and I can sense Stefan beside me wanting to say something and I sigh loudly.

"Just spit it out brother, your over-thinking is giving me a headache."

Stefan glares at me but speaks up anyway. "It's Elena's birthday soon."

I frown immediately at his words. "I _know_."

"I was just making sure…you haven't really said anything about it."

"Why the hell would I take about what I'm doing for _my_ girlfriend's birthday to her _ex_-boyfriend?" I ask him while rolling my eyes and Stefan sighs and mutters something I can't quite catch. "Besides, I've already got her present." I tell him casually. "Well, her main one anyway."

"You do?" Stefan asks shocked and I roll my eyes.

"Don't sound so surprised will you?" I scoff. "But yes, I got it all sorted right after everything happened with Klaus and Kol."

"What are you getting her?" Stefan asks curiously. "It's her eighteenth, it better be good." There is an edge to his tone, almost like he doesn't trust me to do a good job.

I turn my head and glare at him before a smirk crosses my lips. "I got her underwear." I tell him with a shrug.

"As her main present?" Stefan asks skeptically and I can tell that he doesn't quite believe me.

I'm going to change that.

"Don't pull that face, it's good lingerie, like I'm talking about the _expensive_ stuff, you know? The matching sets."

"You can't be serious." Stefan looks at me in disbelief.

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" I put on a frown and turn to face him briefly. "I think she'll like it. I know that _I'll_ like it!" I wiggle my eyebrows and Stefan now looks horrified.

"Oh god, you're an ass, you know that?"

"What?" I protest innocently. "What did you expect me to get her? A new pair of jeans? A dress? A top? Hell no, lingerie is so much sexier." I smirk.

"Damon…"

"Back off, Stefan!" I put a forceful tone to my voice and Stefan mutters something again and holds his hands up in defense.

"Fine, fine, whatever." He smirks slightly. "Just make sure I'm there to see her face when that's what you give her for her eighteen birthday."

"Hell no, you won't be there!" I glare at him and a look of realization crosses his face.

"Gross! That is not what I meant!" he defends himself immediately and I do my best to keep a straight face.

"It better not have been." I mutter before quickly turning on the radio once more and Stefan groans loudly as the instrumental to 500 miles kicks on once again.

As much as this song is annoying the hell out of me, seeing the look of psychological pain and torture on Stefan's face makes it just that little bit bearable.

* * *

I finish adding the final touches to my makeup and glance at myself in the mirror briefly, wondering why I'm even bothering, it's not like the one person I even want to look good for is even in this state.

I stifle a yawn and check my phone, wondering why Damon didn't reply to my goodnight text last night or answer my call but I know that he has been busy these past couple of days dealing with the fallout of the will reading.

I walk over to my bed and finish packing my bag, making sure I have the right textbooks for the day before leaving my bedroom. I knock on Jeremy's door but there's no reply so I'm guessing he's left already and I shrug before running down the stairs, grabbing an apple from the bowl on the dining room table before shouting goodbye to Jenna who is normally in the kitchen at this time of the morning.

I look distractedly for my car keys in my bag while opening the door and stepping onto the porch, letting the door close automatically as I climb down the steps and it's not until I reach the bottom step that I lift my hand and look up and I immediately freeze.

There stands Damon, leaning against his old car with his arms folded across his chest with a smirk on his face, the sun shining down on him making his dark hair look shades lighter.

"Morning beautiful." He grins and winks at me before straightening himself up and I look at him in disbelief from across my front yard.

"What…Damon." I shake my head in astonishment, wondering if he's actually stood there right now or if I'm just imagining it.

His smile widens and I immediately rush towards him, practically flinging my body against his as I wrap my arms around him tightly.

"I can't believe you're here!"

"You really think I could last more than three days without you?" he runs a hand through my hair as I start to press kisses along his neck before pulling back and kissing him hard on the mouth.

He swings me around and pins me against his car, deepening the kiss as one of his hands slips under my shirt, caressing my skin softly.

"I've missed…you…so much." I murmur against his mouth in between hot kisses. I grip onto his black t-shirt tightly while the other wraps around his neck, pulling him even closer against me as his other hand glides underneath my thigh, stroking the fabric of my jeans yet still managing to make my skin tingle.

"Oh come on guys!" Damon groans and pulls away from me and I look over his shoulder in embarrassment to see Ric leaving my house while rolling his eyes.

"Good to see you too, _Mr Saltzman_." Damon glares at him but I can see the amusement in his eyes as Alaric waves him off with his hand as he walks to his car which is parked in front of Damon's.

"It's way too early to see displays like _that_." He grins at us and I lean my head against Damon's shoulder to hide my blush as Damon fires back some snarky comment and Ric chuckles before climbing into his car, warning us not to be late for school.

"Why does this always happen to us?" I ask with a groan as I watch Ric's car drive down the street.

Damon shrugs with a smirk and kisses my cheek quickly. "Because you just can't resist this incredible body?" he holds arms out and sticks out his chest but I just roll my eyes and shake my head with a smile.

"You're mean, you know that? Telling me that you wouldn't be home for another few days when all along I'd get to see you today anyway." I smile and play with the fabric of his t-shirt.

He shrugs casually with a smile, his hands running slowly down my arms before landing on my hips. "Well actually, I'm not supposed to even be here but I managed to get my hands back on my other baby yesterday and after spending an excruciating unbearable 13 hours with my annoying baby bro driving through the night…here I am." He smiles boyishly and I can't help the wide smile that crosses my lips before turning around and motioning to the car.

"So this is your other baby is it?" I place one of my hands on my hips and eye the car with a raised eyebrow.

"The one and only." He walks around me before opening the passenger door. "Want to take a ride?" he wiggles his eyebrows at me with a cheeky smile and I roll my eyes before climbing inside, watching as Damon closes the door before running around and getting into the driver's seat before pulling away.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Damon makes a turn that takes us away from the direction of school and I look at him curiously but he just waves me off. He drives down an empty road by the side of the woods before pulling over onto the mud and I raise my eyebrow at him.

"What are you doing, Damon?" I ask confused. "We're going to be late…"

"We're not going to school today." He tells me with a smirk, unbuckling both of our belts before shuffling alongside me, his arm falling on the back of my chair behind me, his other now motioning to the dashboard. "Open it up."

I eye him for a moment before doing so, a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach as I wonder what this could be. I open up the dashboard and just find a load of random junk inside and I turn to look at Damon again confused.

"What am I looking for?"

Damon however just smiles before shuffling some things about before pulling out a letter that has already been opening but has been pushed back into its envelope, and handing it to me. I look down at it curiously but it just turns back to being confused when I see that the letter is addressed to him.

"I found it this morning when I got back from Chicago, I had to go home to shower and freshen up, besides it was too early to come and see you anyway…"

"What is it?" I look at him, starting to feel more intrigued.

"Just read it." He smiles softly at me and I can no longer wait for another second before I quickly remove the letter from the envelope and unfold it.

I scan the words with my eyes quickly and before I know it a wave of excitement takes over me and I turn to look at Damon shocked, to see his smile widening at my expression.

"Oh my god!" I practically gasp. "You got in!"

"I got in!" Damon grins happily and I shake my head in disbelief before flinging my arms around him in a hug.

"I knew you would!" I pull away and look down at the NYU acceptance letter in my hands, granted, there are a few conditions but in the gist of it all, he has gotten into NYU.

"We're going to New York, Elena." He smirks at me, his hand touching my cheek.

I'm too speechless to reply so instead I just crash my lips against his in a searing kiss, not believing the difference an hour makes.

"You know," Damon mumbles against my mouth as his hand slides underneath my shirt. "I feel like I should give the two of you a proper introduction." Before I can even question what he is on about, he pulls me onto his lap so I am straddling him before unbuttoning my jeans and crashes his lips back against mine.

I pull away breathlessly with a smirk and lift up his t-shirt over his head, dropping my head so our lips are grazing but when he goes to kiss me I pull away slightly with a smirk, my hand starting to unzip his pants.

"I think a proper introduction is _absolutely_ necessary."

* * *

**Yay for Damon! **

**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! And another big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter too :)**

**As I mentioned after the last chapter, this story is coming to a close soon, and I was thinking about what I would do afterwards so I thought I would ask for all of your opinion on something.**

**I am thinking about doing a little sort of sequel full of one shots that basically show snippets of what happens after the final chapter of this story, basically from any time from a couple of months later to 10-20 years later, it wouldn't be in any particular order, but I would try and show 'memorable' moments. **

**So, what do you think?**

**Thanks again for reading this chapter, and the story! You're all awesome and it does mean a lot :) Drop a review or something, let me know what you thought of it.**

**Until next time! **


	44. Chapter 44

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**Gladstone is just a fictional town I have made up, a place that is a couple of towns over from Mystic Falls!**

* * *

I sigh and stand outside the coffee house that is written on the piece of paper in my hands, this is it. I look around at this unfamiliar small town, not really sure why this was the chosen location but then again I guess it would cause suspicion if we were to meet somewhere like The Grill and be recognized by almost everyone in there.

It's been a few days since Isobel tried to reach out to me again in school and she had left me alone, until yesterday when she approached me in the library during my free period, pleading with me to meet up with her today so we can talk. I said no at first, but she handed me the address and told me to meet her here at 12 if I changed my mind.

I look down at my watch to see that it's almost half past and I wonder if she is still here, I'm still not even sure if I made the right choice in coming here and part of me just wants to call Damon and tell him to come pick me back up even though he just dropped me off five minutes ago.

Damon getting into NYU really confirmed it to me that I would be leaving Mystic Falls for at least four years come September and that I still didn't really have all the answers that I wanted after finding out that I was adopted. In a way, Isobel was right with what she said at school the other day, this is the only chance she's probably going to have to get to know me.

For me to know her.

I take a deep breath and push open the door to the small building, a bell immediately signalling my entrance and I look across the small shop to see Isobel sat staring down into a mug, another mug sitting across the table from her and I'm guessing that's for me.

I slowly approach her and watch as she lifts her head slightly and her eyes widen when she sees me. "Elena," she smiles. "I didn't think you were going to come."

"I wasn't going to." I admit bluntly and take a seat on the chair across the table from her.

"Well I'm just glad that you did." She keeps the smile stuck to her face. "So, how are you?"

"Fine." I answer back simply before I realize I'm being rude. "You?"

"Nervous," she lets out a small laugh and I try my best to force a smile. "There's still some things that I need to tell you, Elena." She sounds a little scared and my heart starts to pound hard against my chest and not in the good way.

"Oh?"

She motions to the cup in front of me. "I got that for you, it should still be hot. I hope you like coffee."

"I do." I say while wrapping my hands around the cup and bringing it to my lips and taking a sip, grateful that I have something else to concentrate on. "So uh…what else did you want to tell me?"

She looks down guiltily before leaning down and picking up her purse from the floor, I watch curiously as she pulls out her wallet and pulls out a photo and slides it along the table to me.

I look at her for a moment before glancing back down at the small photo and lift it up in my hand to see two children, a boy and a girl, smiling happily into the camera.

"I don't understand." I mumble out confused but somewhere in the back of my mind I think I know where this is going.

"Their names are James and Amber," she speaks up, her voice frail and shaky. "James is 13 and Amber is 10."

I suddenly feel sick, and my head is starts to ache. What is she getting at here? What is she trying to tell me?

"After I…after I left you," her voice wavers slightly as she says it but she coughs slightly and continues. "I went back to Savannah and I tried to pretend that the past nine months of my life didn't happen, it sounds awful, I know it does, but I was so young and scared and my head and my emotions were all over the place that I just couldn't cope so I tried to shut it out, I knew that you were better off without me, I knew that on some level, I had done the right thing, no matter how much it hurt me." She takes a breath and looks at me but the second she does I shift my eyes onto the mug in front of me, waiting anxiously for her to continue. "A year later, I met a man, called Alan and we hit it off immediately, he was a few years older than me but it was fine and although part of me was terrified to be involved with someone again, I couldn't ignore my feelings for him, I loved him from the moment we met and I just knew that he was the one." She smiles a little and I clench my jaw because I feel like I really know where this is going now. "We started dating and things were getting serious, and two years into our relationship I found out I was pregnant." She looks back at me, trying to read my reaction but I try my best to stick with my poker face.

Why the hell did I even come here?

* * *

"So, what the hell are we supposed to do now?" Jeremy asks with a sigh as I drive down the street after dropping Elena off at the address Isobel asked to meet her at.

I'm still not sure if it's a good idea, especially her doing this alone, but she insisted that she needed to do this by herself and I trust that if that's how she feels, that's what she needs to do, even though I wish I could be there sat by her side right now to hold her hand, do anything that I can to make her feel better.

"Why don't we park the car somewhere and take a look around? See what Gladstone has to offer?" Bonnie suggests from the back seat. This place is like an hour drive away from Mystic Falls so we decided to make a small road trip out of it in my Camaro, knowing that Elena is probably going to need her brother and her best friend here for her if things go awry with Isobel.

Luckily for me, Caroline is visiting her Dad this weekend so I managed to save myself a headache.

"What's there to see?" Jeremy whines. "This place is even smaller than Mystic Falls!"

I pull over at the side of the road in the middle of a long street that looks semi-populated and turn off the ignition. "I'm sure anything is better than being stuck in a car with you two giving each other longing pining looks." I get out and slam the door shut behind me before they can even argue, smirking at the blush on Jeremy's cheeks as he gets out the passenger side and holds open the door for Bonnie who is looking just as embarrassed.

"So…what do we have here…" I look down either side of the road. "A bakery…a convenient store, a pharmacy, a book store and oh look…a diner, _exciting_!" I wiggle my eyebrows mockingly and Bonnie rolls her eyes with a smile.

"Well I for one am hungry!" Jeremy pats his stomach.

"You're _always_ hungry." Bonnie nudges him in the side and I roll my eyes at their lame attempt at flirting that they have been doing all freaking day.

Jeremy broke up with Anna last week, and apparently now has his eyes on his older sister's best friend, confirming my suspicions from before. I just wonder if Bonnie is just as interested or if she is just being nice because he's Elena's brother.

I do know, however, that Elena has absolutely no idea about her brother's crush and part of me is looking forward to her figuring it out, oh it should be _good_.

"Why don't we go to the diner and grab a burger? Then if Elena is still with Miss Flemming we can take a walk somewhere else and see what goes on in this ghost town." Jeremy suggests and I shrug.

"Sure."

Bonnie sighs before nodding her head and we walk into the diner, and as soon as we step inside, eyes linger on us for far too long and I can tell that they probably aren't used to strangers around here.

We slide into a booth and it's not long before a young waitress approaches our table, a bright smile on her face. "Hello, welcome to Gladstone Diner, my name is Sarah and I will be your waitress today. Can I get you any drinks?" I notice her eyes linger on both me and Jeremy, barely even looking at Bonnie who glares at her in annoyance and I roll my eyes before asking for a glass of lemonade, Jeremy ordering a chocolate milkshake and Bonnie a coke.

She soon comes back with our drinks before taking our food orders, Jeremy practically ordering half of the menu and I wonder where the hell he puts it all.

"So, you guys aren't around here are you?" She places her hand on her hip and looks directly at me.

"What makes you think that?" I question her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, this is a small town…most of our customers here are local, and _trust me_, I would have definitely remembered _you_." She smiles at me and I glance over at Bonnie to see her glaring at _me_.

"That's sweet." I put on a fake smile. "So…how long does it normally take for the food here?" I lean on my elbows and put on the best polite smile as I can, hoping that she can take the hint without taking offence, the last thing we need is for these lock hicks to be messing with our food if we piss them off!

"Oh, it shouldn't be too long." She smiles back at me widely. "I'll go and hand deliver it to the chef right now."

"Thank you, Sarah." I send her another fake sweet smile and she wonders away towards the kitchen, turning her head back to look back over at me as she does so.

I lean back against the booth and turn to see Bonnie glaring at me. "What?" I ask innocently.

"You're an ass." She glares at me and I roll my eyes.

"Oh come on! You can't honestly think I'm interested in _that_, geez Witchy, give me just a little credit here."

"All I'm saying is, the last thing that Elena needs right now is you flirting with waitresses." She holds her hands up in defense.

"You call _that_ flirting!" I look at her amused. "Jeremy, tell her buddy."

Jeremy glances between us before letting out a sigh. "As much as I _hate_ to agree with him, Damon's right."

"Urgh boys!" Bonnie huffs.

"And _that_ my dear, is why you're single." I wink at her amused and laugh loudly when she gives me the finger, although I can see a hint of amusement in her eyes but then I don't miss the blush that crosses her cheeks as she shares a look with Jeremy and I remind myself to interrogate him about this later.

* * *

After a mediocre burger, seriously, they need to change their menu or something because it _sucked_;we walked out into the warm late spring air and walked down the street. I look down at my phone to see that Elena still hasn't text me and I hope that this means that everything is going well so far.

"How do you think Elena is doing?" Jeremy asks quietly as he noticed me check my phone.

"She'll be fine." I tell him confidently, sometimes forgetting that Elena being adopted has changed his life too, I know they still see each other as the siblings that they are, they grew up together, they love each other, nothing will change that, but that doesn't make it any less hard. "You know you're sister, she's strong."

"I just hope Miss Flemming isn't filling her head with crap." He mutters coldly. "Mom and Dad, they obviously adopted Elena for a reason, they kept her away from her, for a reason." he says with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Maybe." I sigh, "But we don't really know the full story yet and I don't like to speculate, let's just wait until Elena is done and she will tell us all about it, ok?"

Honestly, I don't want to talk about it because I know if I do I will drive myself crazy with worry and will probably end up charging back to the coffee shop I dropped her off at a few blocks away and picking her up, carrying her home and locking ourselves in my bedroom where no one else can hurt her.

Unfortunately, that's a tad unrealistic.

"Fine." Jeremy sighs, ending the conversation even though I can tell that he still had more to say on the matter.

"Why don't we stop by the bookstore?" Bonnie suggests, swiftly moving the subject along.

"Yuck, really?" I ask unimpressed although part of me is a little appealed by that idea.

Of course, I'm not going to let these two know that.

"Yes! There's nothing else to do, is there? Come on, it might be fun." She shrugs and walks ahead of us and pushes the door open.

Jeremy does not look happy but goes along with it anyway and we follow her inside, that smell of old books immediately attacking my senses and I look around the almost empty store with a sigh.

"Can I help you?" A man by the counter asks suspiciously and I roll my eyes at him already. Can't three teenagers enter a store without immediately causing suspicion?

"No we're fine thanks." Bonnie answers politely before wondering down one of the long aisles.

"Well…I'm going _that_ way." I tell Jeremy before walking across to the other side of the store leaving him alone.

After about ten minutes of browsing and really not finding any books that peak my interest, I round an aisle and find Jeremy stood leaning back against one of the cases on his cellphone, totally oblivious to everyone around him.

I creep up behind him slowly and quietly and the second I'm close enough I reach out and snatch the phone out his hands, watching Jeremy's eyes widen in panic slightly before turning into annoyance when he realizes it's just me.

"Damon!" he groans in annoyance. "Give it back!"

"Who you texting?" I ask with a smirk as I step back as he tries to swipe his phone back and I look down at it and a wide smile crosses my face. "What? _Bonnie Bennett_?" I look up at him and see his cheeks immediately turning red. "And why exactly are you texting her when she is just a few hundred feet away?"

"I was just seeing where she is…" he steps forward again and tries to get the phone but I hold my hand up in the air so he can't reach it. "Stop being an ass, Damon! Give it back!"

"Nah uh!" I smirk and start to walk backwards, Jeremy following my every movement. He tries to swipe the phone from me again and I raise my arms in the air again, switching the phone between my hands and before I even have time to react, Jeremy's hands are in my pocket and he has took my own cell phone from it.

"Aha!" He grins widely in triumph and I immediately groan. "Not nice is it?"

"How about a trade?" I suggest slowly as Jeremy slides the lock button along, giving him full access to my phone.

"Hmm…I'm not sure." Jeremy starts tapping on some buttons.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

"Changing your Facebook status." He smiles cheekily at me.

"Oh, real mature, Jer!"

"Says the guy who stole my phone and won't give it back?"

"Touché." I roll my eyes and let out a loud sigh. "Come on, trade!"

"Just a second," Jeremy smirks as he continues to type and an idea pops into my head.

"You know, I'd be careful with that…" I tell him in a serious warning tone and Jeremy finally tares his eyes away from my screen and looks up at me.

"Why?"

"Well…I have some pictures on there of your big sister that I know are _definitely_ _not_ suitable for the eyes of her baby brother, if you know what I mean." I smirk and put in a wink for good measure as a horrified look crosses his face and before I know it he is throwing his phone against my chest in disgust.

"Ew Damon! That's gross!" he swats his hands against his jeans, almost like he has touched something dirty and is trying to wipe it off.

"Trust me; your sister is anything _but_ gross." I wiggle my eyebrows at him. "She's hot, sexy...beautiful and has a body to _die_ for! She's _flexible_ too." I tease him wickedly.

"Oh GOD!" He groans loudly and literally covers his ears with his hands. "Really?!"

I shrug in amusement before tossing his phone back at him with a laugh. "Come on, let's go find that girlfriend of yours."

"She's not my-"

"Yada yada yada." I roll my eyes waving him off with my hand.

"Dick."

"Oh?" I turn around and before he knows it I have him in a headlock. "What were you saying?" I tighten my grip around his neck in amusement.

"You're…a dick!" he gasps out struggling for air and I chuckle as he attempts to pull himself out but I'm too strong.

Before I know it, his feet are moving and he is pushing me against bookcases around us, trying to free himself from my grasp but I refuse to let go, and we shuffle from side to side in the aisle, each of our backs hitting off the case at one point or another.

Everything happens so fast though, I stumble on my feet and immediately go crashing into a small bookcase behind me, the shelves tumbling down as Jeremy and I land on top of it, my grip on him finally letting go as we tumble into it and the whole thing collapses.

"Oy!" Jeremy groans loudly in pain as we lie in a pile of books, a chunk of broken wood digging into his back which he immediately removes and throws onto the pile beside him.

"That hurt," I push myself up so I'm sitting and rub my back and glance at Jeremy with a smile.

"You really are a dick!" he lets out a laugh and I stand up, holding my hand out for him which he takes as I pull him up to his feet.

"Come on, we need to get out of here before-"

"What the hell is this?!" the man from behind the counter comes rushing around the corner to see the scene and the mess that we have left and I watch as his eyes widen in horror before his nose starts to flare with anger, his face turning an angry shade of red.

Jeremy and I glance at each other before turning on our heels and running away. "HEY!" I hear him call after us and I know that he is chasing us, we pass Bonnie on one of the aisles who looks startled and confused but Jeremy quickly grabs her hand and pulls her along with us, and we quickly run towards the door and outside, running down the street.

I turn around, to see the man stood panting a few hundred yards from outside his shop, his hands wailing crazily in the air as he shouts at us to come back and I let out a howl of laughter as we turn the corner and stop to take a breath knowing that the guy isn't going to come following anymore.

"Oh man!" Jeremy leans down and presses his hands against his knees, a mixture of laughter and heavy breathing escaping his lips. "That was hilarious! Did you see his face?"

I nod my head and wipe my head, the hot sun making small beads of sweat appear on my forehead.

"What the hell happened?!" Bonnie asks in disbelief but I can tell that she is just as buzzed as we are.

"We knocked down a bookcase." Jeremy laughs while straightening himself out.

"That's what that crashing noise was? What the hell were you guys doing?!"

"We were just messing about." Jeremy chuckles. "Damon couldn't stay on his feet and brought the entire thing down."

"Um no," I immediately cut in. "I'm pretty sure it was your fat ass that put your weight into it to make it fall!"

"You're both idiots." Bonnie scolds us half-heartedly. "Come on, let's just go back to the car and wait for Elena there before you jokers get us into any more trouble!"

* * *

"I freaked out," Isobel looks down at her hands. "All those memories that I shut off and pushed out of my mind of when I was pregnant with you came rushing back. I couldn't be pregnant, I couldn't have a baby, not when I already had one out there already. Alan didn't understand, he thought it was the best news ever, we were already living together and even though we weren't engaged or anything, he just saw it as the next step. Not me, I…" I look up when I notice her voice trembles and I can see the tears in her eyes. "I wanted to get an abortion, I didn't want a baby, I already had a baby, I wanted that one, I wanted _you_." She runs a hand through her hair. "Alan got mad, he didn't know about you so he didn't get why this was so hard for me, but eventually I told him, everything, and I thought he'd be mad, I thought that he'd judge me, but he didn't, instead he just held my hand and he listened and suddenly things didn't seem so bad, he helped me believe that this was my second chance, my second chance to do the right thing."

"Glad to know I was so replaceable." I hiss bitterly, the sickly feeling still resting in my stomach that I have a brother and sister out there and I didn't even know about it. That this woman, who gave me up, who didn't want me, got pregnant and started another family not even five years later.

"No, Elena, it wasn't like that I swear!" she tries to defend herself immediately. "You have to understand, Alan changed my life, before him, when I was pregnant with you, I was completely and utterly alone, I had _nothing_."

I stay silent and she sighs before taking a breath and continuing.

"All through my pregnancy I was praying that it would be a boy, I didn't want a girl, I already had a beautiful baby girl." She wipes at her eyes. "I got lucky, and we got James, and I felt so happy, Alan and I had gotten married a couple of months beforehand and I finally felt content with my life, despite my longing for you." She looks up at me. "A couple of years after that I had Amber."

"So you got your baby girl in the end." I shake my head, this is too much. I did not expect this. "Where are they now?" I ask after a few moments of silence. "I haven't seen you around Mystic Falls with a husband, never mind kids, and how come your name is still Flemming?" I think back to when Damon hired someone to look into Isobel when we first suspected her, but he found nothing on an Isobel Flemming having other children. I have so many questions, so many questions that I need answering but I just don't know if I can find the courage to ask them, never mind hear them.

Isobel smiles sadly and lifts up her left hand. "I went back to Flemming after Alan and I got divorced." I frown, wondering if he really was this amazing man that she knew she was going to spend the rest of her life with, if she had then went on to get divorced. "I know what you're thinking," she smiles slightly and I look away guiltily. "We went through a rough patch a few years ago and we ended it, it was the hardest decision of my life but it was for the best at the time." She tells me and she doesn't sound as sad as I thought she would. "But a year ago, James had gotten hit by a car." I snap my head up in shock and she immediately waves her hand. "He's fine now, thank God, but it was touch and go for a moment, he got hurt pretty bad and there was a moment when we thought he wasn't going to pull through, but he did, and it made us realize how fragile life is, and we decided to give it another go. We haven't remarried, we probably never will, but getting back together was the best decision we made and we haven't looked back since."

"So…where are they? Your family."

"Once James recovered from his accident, I realized that I needed to see you again, that I needed to be in your life. So we made the decision to move here together last summer."

"To Mystic Falls?" I ask confused.

"No, _here_, in Gladstone." She tells me while holding her hands out. "I wanted to move close by, but I didn't want to ambush you so we picked a town close by, that had a nice school for the kids and that Alan could open his own bookstore here, which is something he has always wanted to do, and I was close enough to make the daily trips I needed to work at Mystic Falls High."

"But you didn't start at Mystic Falls until January?" I ask confused.

"No, but I had applied for a position in the summer to work as a sub, but it didn't work out, luckily the position came up before Christmas to start in January." She explains and we fall silent.

"This is so much." I put my head in my hands for a moment as I try and let all this information sink in. "You're telling me that I have…that I have siblings, a brother, a sister that I didn't even know existed…I didn't…I can't."

"I didn't want to tell you this soon, Elena, I wanted to wait until you got used to the idea of _me_ before I brought them into it, but when I found out that you were moving to New York, I knew that I had to tell you sooner rather than later." She explains and I stay silent before taking a sip of my coffee, cringing slightly when I realize it has gone cold. "I'm not asking you to meet them today…but…they know about you, and it would be nice for you all to meet before you go."

"You want me to meet them?" I ask frowning and she nods her head. "I don't think I can do that."

"Elena…"

"Jeremy is my brother," I say almost in panic. "He's my baby brother. I don't know them, I don't even know _you_."

"I want that to change," she practically pleads with me. "If you'd let me."

I stay silent and try and think over all this information but it is so hard to get my head around, I was not expecting this today, not at all.

"I don't know." I admit. "I'm not saying it's always going to be a _no_, but it is going to be a no right now."

Isobel nods her head; a sad smile on her lips that I can tell is forced. "I guess I can understand that. Thank you for coming today, Elena, it really means the world to me to just be able to sit here in the same room as you."

I nod my head slightly and pull out my phone, quickly sending a text to Damon to tell him that I'm ready to leave and I go to make a move and watch as Isobel gathers her stuff and stands with me. "Where are you parked? I'll walk you too your car." She smiles softly but I shake my head.

"Damon drove me here; he's coming to pick me up now." I explain as we walk outside, the sun immediately making my eyes squint.

"Thanks again for coming, Elena." She reaches her hand out and touches my arm; I flinch for a second but don't move away. "I hope we can make this a somewhat regular thing?"

"Maybe." I answer hesitantly, not really sure if I'm ready for that yet. It's bad enough seeing her at school almost every day.

I feel my entire body sag in relief as I see Damon's Camaro turn the corner and drive towards us, pulling to a stop on the sidewalk.

"Bye then." I wave awkwardly at Isobel before walking across the pavement to the passenger side door, watching as Jeremy opens it before climbing into the back seat next to Bonnie, not even bothering to send a glance Isobel's way.

"I'll see you at school on Monday?" she asks almost hopefully and I nod my head and force a smile.

"Yup, see you then." I climb into the car and slam the door shut immediately, watching out of the corner of my eye that Isobel still hasn't moved. "Drive please." I tell him Damon and he nods his head quickly before pressing his foot against the gas.

"You ok?" he asks softly, his hand reaching out and taking my hand in his, squeezing it gently as his thumb runs up and down my palm soothingly.

"I just want to go home." I lean my head against the window and Damon brings our linked hands up to his lips before pressing soft kisses on my knuckles.

"That can be arranged."

* * *

"I'm going to go have a quick shower, I won't be too long." Elena pecks me on the lips while patting my chest before leaving the room and heading upstairs and I'm left alone with Jenna who is just finished loading the dishwasher.

She's cheered up a lot since we got back from Gladstone a couple of hours ago, after telling us what Isobel had told her on the drive home, I could see that she was trying to stop herself from crying and I have to admit that I'm surprised she didn't just let it all out.

It's a lot to take in, finding out that not only do you have a mother you didn't know about, but you have a whole family too, a brother, a sister, a somewhat stepfather. She's definitely handling all of this better than I ever would if I were in the situation.

But that's Elena Gilbert for you, strong and gracious, never one to just crumble and take defeat.

"So…_Damon_…Elena tells me you got into NYU." Jenna smiles at me as she turns around and I nod my head while taking a seat on the stool by the counter, starting to feel a little suspicious by the tone of her voice. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." I smile gratefully, but part of me knows that this isn't what all she was planning on saying.

"So…you're moving to New York, you and Elena…"

"Yep." I try to hide my smirk. "Both of us."

"And what exactly are your plans?"

"How'd you mean?"

"Well…are you two planning on living together? Aren't the campuses quite far apart? How would you even be able to afford a place on your own, it's expensive there you know. Besides, I know that you two are serious, and I think you're good for her I really do, but you haven't even been together a year yet and I don't want you guys rushing into anything, I worry about her sometimes because she loves you a lot and she doesn't want to slow down, the whole going to college together thing is a big deal and-"

"Jenna!" I cut her off with a smile. "Slow down, you're getting way ahead of yourself here."

"Sorry," she almost blushes and sends me a smile. "I just worry about her sometimes, well, all the time."

"I know." I smile in understanding. "But to answer your questions, Elena and I have decided we're going to do the whole college dorm thing, we both agree with you, it's too soon to live together and we want to do the whole college experience properly. As much as I want to live with Elena, trust me I do, I know that it's not really the most sensible idea just yet." I smile as I watch her shoulders sag in relief.

"That's good, I'm glad you're both being smart about this." She nods her head at me approvingly. "You will look after her though won't you? I know she's excited about the move, but New York is a lot different to Mystic Falls, it's going to be scary for her living in a big city, I know it's different for you because you spent most of your life in Chicago, but Elena has lived here her whole life."

"Don't worry," I tell her softly. "I'm going to make sure she's fine, I'll make sure she has the best time and nothing bad will happen to her, not under my watch."

"Thank you. I know I'm probably being way too overprotective, but I know that if her parents were still here they would be way worse with you than I am right now." She lets out a small laugh as she thinks about it and I watch as her mind wonders off somewhere else. "She was there little girl, you know?"

"I know." I smile sadly. "I wish they were still here too, I never knew them but…I know how much Elena misses them, especially now."

Jenna nods her head in understanding and I watch as she lets out a loud sigh before changing the subject and locking her hands together. "So, Elena's birthday is only a week away, I hope you have something special planned for her." She points out warningly. "I know she said she doesn't want to make a big deal out of it, but it's her eighteenth."

"Yeah actually, I'm glad you brought that up." I walk towards the kitchen door and close it, just in case Elena is lurking about upstairs and can hear us. "I wanted to talk to you about something, and I'm not quite sure what your reaction is going to be." I send her a nervous smile.

"Oh yeah?" Jenna looks at me curiously as I walk back towards her.

"Yeah…you see…" I take a deep breath before I go into it and explain everything and I just hope to God she takes it well.

It's now or never.

* * *

**Sorry to leave it there folks, the next chapter will be Elena's birthday! And I know there wasn't much Damon/Elena interaction in this one, but there will be plenty in the next! **

**Hope you liked it, and thank you to all you awesome reviewers, please let me know what you thought of this one :)**

**Until next time!**


	45. Chapter 45

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

* * *

I wake up with a gasp as I feel a hand sliding along the inside of my thigh before the feeling of lips pressing against the back of my neck make my eyes flutter open.

"Good morning birthday girl." Damon's morning husky voice pulls me into a more aware state and I roll over to face him with a shy smile on my face.

"Morning handsome." I place my hand on his cheek as he presses a soft kiss to my lips. "This is a wonderful way to wake up." I smile before kissing him again.

"Happy birthday." He murmurs against my mouth before rolling on top of me. "You know…since it is your birthday, and you're another year older, I think I'm going to have to give you special attention this morning." He starts to trail kisses down my chest, slipping a hand under my bra and I gasp and shudder as his lips get lower.

"What kind of special attention?" I question in between pants as his open mouthed kisses literally leave my skin burning with desire.

"The _really_ _special_ kind." He looks up at me with a smirk and I run one of my hands through his hair as the other grips the sheets tightly as he continues his journey south. "When did you put these back on?" he shakes his head disapprovingly as he slips his fingers into my panties and I gasp and shake as his fingers graze my center. "These are going to have to go." He pulls them down and I lift myself up slightly so he can discard them.

I whimper as he presses his lips right where I'm craving him to be, his hands clutching my thighs as he lifts them over his shoulder and literally pulls me against his lips and I have to bite on my arm to stop myself from gasping loudly, very much aware of my Aunt in the next room and my brother just two small wooden doors away.

I shudder and shake against him as he licks and sucks before I just can't take it anymore. "Damon please," I moan. "I need you inside me."

He lifts his head with a smirk before climbing up my body and attacking my mouth with his, and I gasp slightly at the taste of me on his lips. His hand runs up my thigh and my sides slowly, his fingers tickling my skin. I run my hand down his hard abs before slipping it inside his shorts, gripping onto his already hard member tightly and Damon groans against my mouth, pulling away to bite at the skin of my neck.

"I need you _now_, Damon." I push down his shorts and Damon nods his head before slipping on a condom and I gasp as he grazes my center slowly before he thrusts inside of me. I bite on my arm to stop myself from screaming his name as he continues to thrust in and out of me hard and fast, his face buried into the crook of my neck as he continues to bite and nibble on my skin and I feel my nails drag down his back slowly as I struggle to control myself, my body on fire.

"I'm almost there, baby." Damon grunts into my ear before raising his head and kisses me, his tongue immediately sliding inside my mouth and I moan against his mouth as I deepen the kiss, my screams getting lost between us as I feel my orgasm overtaking me.

After bringing me to my utmost highest state of pleasure, I come crashing back down to earth with a thud as Damon's naked body crashes on top of mine breathlessly, his face digging into my neck, his pants in my ear and I smile tiredly and run my hand down his smooth back.

"That was...amazing." I let out a shaky breath as Damon presses a soft kiss onto my neck, soothing the pleasurable stinging pain from his earlier bites.

"You're so beautiful." Damon murmurs as he lifts his head up and looks down at me with a soft smile before kissing me gently. "Happy birthday, Elena."

* * *

"Oh come Ric, you're burning them!" I watch amused as Alaric attempts to barbeque us burgers on the grill out in the Gilbert back yard. The sun is out, which means it's the perfect day for a BBQ and to celebrate Elena's birthday with just her family for lunch.

"Shut it Salvatore, I'd like to see you do a better job." Ric rolls his eyes at me as he throws a now burnt to the crisp black beef burger into the trash and I chuckle amused as he has to start all over again.

"I'll have you know I'm a pro in the kitchen, it's my Italian heritage." I brag with a smirk.

"Well son, this isn't the kitchen, is it."

"No but it ain't a Bunsen burner either." I chuckle in amusement as I continue to tease him, watching as the added pressure of me watching his every move makes him mess up yet another piece of meat.

"What's going on here? I'm starving." Elena walks towards us with a smile and I hold my arm out for her until she is wrapped underneath it, her arm slinking around my waist as her head leans against my shoulder.

"Your boyfriend is being a pain in my ass." Ric grunts and I chuckle as Elena shakes her head at me and swats me in the chest.

"Stop winding him up, Damon." She smiles before leaning up and pressing her lips against mine quickly. "Behave."

"I was just offering genuine advice." I shrug with a look that I know Elena will recognize as _far_ from innocent.

"Yeah yeah, whatever, just be useful or something and go grab me a beer." Ric turns his head over his shoulder to look at us.

"Um, _no_." I scoff and shake my head.

"Damon." Elena smiles sweetly at me. "Be a dear and get Ric a beer, hopefully he'll be able to make one successful burger while you're gone."

I roll my eyes before sighing loudly. "Fine." I lean down and peck Elena's forehead quickly before pulling out of her grasp. "If I must." I walk up the steps and back inside, taking advantage of the air conditioned cold breeze compared to the hot clammy weather outside.

I grab a beer out the fridge and open off the cap with the opener before heading back to the porch doors but the doorbell ringing stops me and I mutter in annoyance under my breath since everyone is out I'm going to have to go get it, and wonder towards it. I swing open the door, ready to snap at whatever sales person thinks it's a good idea to interrupt Elena's birthday on a Saturday lunch time but freeze when I see that it's Isobel standing on the porch, a nervous look on her face as she holds a gift in her hand.

"Damon," she forces a smile after being surprised to see me answer the door.

"Miss Flemming." I send her a mocking fake smile back, still not sure what to think of her yet.

"Is Elena here?"

"Yes." I answer but don't move from the door. "Is there any reason why _you_ are?"

Isobel sighs loudly. "Damon, it's her birthday."

"I'm aware."

"Come on, don't be like this, I just want to see my daughter on her birthday." She glances over my shoulder for a moment. "_Please_."

I sigh and grunt under my breath before opening the door wider and taking a step back. "Everyone's outside, we're attempting to have a BBQ." I mutter coldly before motioning Isobel to follow me, I'm not sure what Elena's reaction is going to be to seeing Isobel today but I do know that they have sort of been semi getting along this week, which is the only reason I didn't slam the door in her face.

I walk outside into the back yard and Elena looks over her shoulder with a smile. "There you are, how long does it take to-" she stops when she notices Isobel walk behind her and I send her an apologetic smile.

"Hi Elena." Isobel walks around me with a nervous smile. "Happy birthday."

"Um, you can't just come in here!" Jeremy goes to cross the yard towards them but Jenna quickly grabs a hold of his arm to stop him.

"It's fine, Jer." Elena holds her hand out and turns back to Isobel. "Thanks."

"I wasn't sure whether or not to stop by, but I didn't want you to think that I didn't care and I had bought you a present so…" she holds out the gift and I watch as Elena slowly takes it out of her hands.

"Thanks." She mumbles almost shyly and she puts it on the folded out table beside her. "I'll open it later."

Isobel nods her head with a smile. "I hope you'll like it."

Elena doesn't say anything and we fall into a somewhat awkward silence, the only noise coming from the sound of the grill as Ric crucifies yet another burger.

"So uh…do you want to stay for some food or something?" Elena breaks the silence and my eyebrows automatically widen in surprise.

"Yeah, that sounds good, thanks." Isobel smiles widely at the invite.

"I can't promise you anything though; Ric isn't doing a very good job so far." She smirks slightly and I feel my entire body relax when I realize she really is ok with this.

"Hey!" Ric immediately cuts in to defend himself. "I'd be better if your boyfriend did his job and handed me that beer!"

"Oh of course, keep blaming me!" I smirk at him before walking towards him and handing him the beer that I still had in my hand. "Now let's see you go Gordon Ramsey."

I watch from the corner of my eye as Jeremy storms inside, Elena watching him with guilty eyes but she doesn't go after him. I glance over at Jenna who starts to walk over to us and she smiles apologetically before following him, probably in attempt to calm him down.

"So, how has your day been so far?" Isobel asks as Elena takes a seat around the outside table and motions for her to follow, pouring them both a glass of the homemade lemonade Jenna had prepared earlier.

I stand back against the wall of the house, my arms folded across my chest, in close enough distance to hear the conversation but not so close as to look as if I'm intruding.

Elena knows I'm there though, judging by the flicking of her glance back and forth between me and Isobel and I send her a comforting smile when we catch eyes.

"It's been good, nice." She smiles and glances again at me and I wink at her and watch as a blush crosses her cheeks as she thinks back to our long morning in bed.

"I'm glad; I hope you've been spoiled." Isobel smiles and Elena nods her head. "What did Damon get you? Something special I hope."

Elena's blush deepens and I do my best to hide my laugh as I remember her face to opening the very sexy lingerie that I presented to her after round one this morning, to say we put it to good use afterwards would be an understatement.

Isobel however seems to notice Elena's embarrassment and that just makes Elena's cheeks redden even more. "Never mind," she smiles meekly.

"He's taking me out for a meal tonight." Elena coughs slightly as she tries to get over her embarrassment. "I'm looking forward to it."

"That's if we don't starve to death beforehand." I cut in with a smirk just as Ric hits the air with his fist.

"Done it!" he grins in triumph. "Elena, come on birthday girl, you can have the first one." He puts the not burnt looking burger onto a paper plate and motions for Elena to come and get it.

"Are you sure it's safe for her to eat?" I joke as Elena sends me a jokingly terrified look that Ric catches.

"Oh come on guys, I worked hard on this!" he practically whines.

"Worked hard on what?" Jenna asks slipping back outside with a smile. I notice her and Elena share a glance but nothing else comes from it.

"I finally got this grill to cook a successful burger, I'm telling you Jenna, you need to invest in a new one, this one is dated."

"Oh yeah, blame it on the equipment." Jenna teases him with a smile and I watch amused as Elena eyes up the burger before taking a bite.

"Well?" Ric asks eagerly as Elena chews slowly.

"Um…it's nice." She says with a shrug and a smile and Ric looks somewhat deflated.

"Just nice? You can say if it's awful, Elena, I won't be offended."

"It's not awful." Elena tells him firmly and Ric sends an 'I told you so' look towards me and Jenna before turning back to the grill and I watch as Elena's face immediately turns into a grimace.

"Yeah…" she walks over to me and places her hand against my chest. "Don't eat that." She murmurs quietly with a smile and I chuckle and kiss her forehead, taking the burger from her hands and discreetly hiding it in the trash.

* * *

"My lady." Damon holds his hand out with a sweet handsome smile as he opens his car door for me. I smile and blush at the look in his eyes as I take his hand in mine and step out of the car, Damon reaching behind me to shut the door and I wrap my hand around his bicep as he leads me towards the door of the very expensive looking restaurant he has a table booked for us.

"You know Salvatore, I didn't think a place like this was your type." I smirk at him as he opens the door for me and we walk inside, the smell of Italian food immediately attacking me senses causing my stomach to growl loudly. I blush and chance a look at Damon and by the amused smile on his lips I'm guessing he heard it.

"This place is the best Italian in all of Mystic Falls, Elena." He tells me pointedly.

"That doesn't take much." I smirk at him and he chuckles and shakes his head before pressing his lips against my ear.

"Trust me baby, it's good." He kisses my cheek before pulling away and my entire body shudders slightly. He presses his hand on my lower back, my tight black dress hugging my curves perfectly and I watch as Damon talks to the waiter politely, confirming our booking. I stand back and admire him a little, his black tight fitting shirt showing off his muscles and broad back and shoulders. His dark smart pants showing off his perfect backside and I can't help but lick my lips.

He is truly the definition of handsome.

The waiter leads us to our table in the corner of the room and I take my seat, a candle burning between us as Damon takes a seat on the chair diagonal to me on the small squared table, his hand immediately clasping in mine.

A blonde waitress soon comes over to take our drinks order and I immediately see her check Damon out, I'd be annoyed, but Damon doesn't even give her a second glance, instead keeping his gaze on me as he orders the most expensive bottle of red wine on the menu, his eyes glistening under the candles glow as my eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Damon…" I shake my head at him for his choice but he cuts me off and brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles softly.

"Ssh, this is _your_ night, _my_ treat. Let me spoil you, Elena, this is all for you." He smiles and my heart pounds hard against my chest at the tone of his voice.

I smile and nod my head and Damon leans over and kisses me slowly on the mouth, I place one of my hands on his cheek, the other running through his thick dark hair as he shuffles his chair even closer to mine.

We're interrupted by an awkward cough and the waitress from before has returned with the bottle and two glasses, a hint of pink on her cheeks.

I pull away and try to hide my smile at the look on her face, Damon however looks completely calm and just leans back in his chair, his hand still lingering onto the bare skin of my arm as the waitress pours us both a glass and leaves the bottle on the table, asking us to call her over when we are ready to order.

Damon takes a sip of his wine, his eyes never leaving mine and I look at him curiously. "You're not trying to get me drunk are you? I know you can only have one glass since you're driving."

"Maybe I have other plans to avoid me being a drink driver." He smirks at me and I look at him curiously.

"What are you up to, Salvatore? You've been acting suspicious all afternoon." I raise my eyebrows at him questionably and it's true. After the barbeque wrapped up, Damon barely took his eyes off his phone and then he excused himself to go home, saying he needed to get dressed for tonight but I know it was way too early for that.

"What makes you think I'm up to something?" Damon shrugs with a smile. "I was just thinking we could just call a cab and get a hotel or something?"

"A hotel?"

"Yep." Damon shrugs and leans over to kiss me quickly on the lips. "Come on, let's take a look at this menu, I am starving!"

I roll my eyes slightly and open up the menu, immediately gasping at the prices but Damon just gives me a warning look to not mention it and I sigh and do as I'm told, before picking out the most appealing meal.

* * *

Damon was right, the meal is absolutely perfect, the food is so good and I'm completely stuffed.

"You want desert?" he asks while running his hand up and down my back soothingly over my dress, his fingers tracing my bare skin from the backless part of it.

"God no." I shake my head and put a hand on my stomach.

"Oh my, Elena Gilbert saying _no_ to pudding?" he reaches over with a smirk and presses his hand against my forehead. "Are you feeling alright?" he teases and I swat his hand away.

"Yes, _ass_." I send him a mocking glare before smirking at him as he chuckles and polishes off his wine. My smirk fades into a genuine smile and I reach my hand across to place it on his thigh, running it up and down slowly. "Thank you for tonight, Damon." I tell him genuinely.

"You're welcome." He smiles sweetly at me and my heart yet again skips a beat. "But it's not over yet." He winks at me before standing up and I raise my eyebrow confused.

"What?"

"Come on." He grins and I stand up, grabbing my purse before slipping my hand into his, our fingers linking in together as he takes across the restaurant towards the stairs at the other side.

"Damon what are you doing? I don't think we're supposed to go up here…" I look behind me nervously, noticing that no one has come to stop us yet but Damon just ignores me and pulls me up the stairs. "Damon?" I try tugging on his hand to stop as he leads me through a dark hallway but he doesn't stop.

Eventually we reach a door and he stops and turns to face me with a smile. "Open it."

"What?" I ask confused, my heart pounding hard against my chest in nerves.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." I answer without a seconds hesitation.

"Then open the door, Elena." He smirks and I bite on my lip before pushing past him and gripping the handle, I slowly and hesitantly open the door and the second I do a scream of "SURPRISE!" is shouted and I jump back in shock as party poppers are let off in front of me, confetti flying about all over me.

"Oh my god!" I gasp in shock as I look around the private function room filled with a few dozen people. The faces I spot immediately are Caroline and Bonnie, wide smiles on their faces as they probably take in my shocked expression. Jenna, Alaric and Jeremy are also there, as is Matt and Tyler, even Stefan is there. A few friends from school are about too, as well as Liz Forbes and Carol Lockwood, April Young and a couple of my old cheer-leading buddies.

"Happy birthday, Elena!" Caroline and Bonnie immediately wrap their arms around me in a tight hug and I can't help but squeal with excitement as I realize this is all for me.

"Oh my god, I don't know what to say." I pull back and run my hand through my hair before turning my head back over to Damon who is stood with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. "I knew you were up to something!" he just shrugs innocently and removes a hand from his pocket to run it down my arm.

"I know you didn't want a fuss." Jenna approaches me with a smile. "But Caroline insisted that we give you a party, so we figured that your best friends, a few family friends and a handful of friends from school wouldn't hurt. I hope that's ok?"

I nod my head with a smile. "Yeah, it's perfect, thank you Jenna." I turn to face Caroline and Bonnie. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Caroline grins before looping her arm through mine, Bonnie doing the same on the other side. "Come on, we gotta go dance!"

* * *

"So, you actually pulled it off huh?" Stefan approaches me as I stand at the bar, a bottle of beer in my hand as I watch Elena dance happily with Caroline and Bonnie and some other friends from school.

"Seems that way, brother." I shrug before taking a sip from my beer, my eyes never leaving Elena.

"Thanks for inviting me…" he mumbles somewhat awkwardly and I shrug.

"Don't thank me, Caroline was the one who organized this thing."

"Maybe so, but we both know this whole night was your idea." Stefan smiles at me and I stay silent. "It's ok to admit to doing nice things, Damon. It doesn't make you weak."

"I'm not afraid of people seeing me do nice things, Stefan." I roll my eyes at his failure to analyze me. I don't need analyzing idiot. "I'd do anything for Elena, I don't care who knows it."

Stefan nods his head before turning around to the bartender and asking for a beer, I can't help the chuckle that comes out of my lips as the barman asks him for some ID.

"What…but…" Stefan stumbles on his words and turns to face me and motions to the beer in my hands. "You served _him_."

"Don't worry about it." I turn to face the bartender. "Get him whatever he wants, he's with me." I say and watch as the bartender nods his head before giving Stefan the beer he originally asked for.

"What? How?" Stefan asks confused and I smirk.

"I paid him off earlier, give him a few hundred bucks if he promised to serve me anything I wanted, threw in a little extra if he extended it to Elena, Caroline and Bonnie too, but don't tell them that, I want them to think that their special."

Stefan lets out a laugh and shakes his head in disbelief. "Good to know you're putting your money to good use."

I shrug casually. "It's just for tonight; I'll spend however much it takes to make sure Elena has the perfect night."

"Well, she seems to be having fun."

I watch as she giggles loudly as Bonnie spins her around and I can't help the smile that crosses my lips at the sight.

"She deserves it."

* * *

I come up behind Elena with a grin and tap her on shoulder. "Hey you."

She turns around and her smile widens when she sees me and it literally makes my heart skip a beat.

"Good job on keeping this thing a secret." She smirks at me and I shrug casually before reaching my hand down into my pocket and pulling out the rectangular box that is covered in wrapping paper, Elena's eyes follow my hand and she looks up at me surprised. "What's that?"

"You _really_ didn't think that the lingerie I gave you this morning was your main present did you?" I smirk at her in amusement when her eyes light up and she eyes the box in my hand with interest. "Come on, it's you're eighteenth, I had to give you something special." I grin and pass it to her and watch as she rips apart the wrapping paper eagerly to see a long box, her eyes lift up to face me for a moment and I smile and motion for her to open it.

I watch eagerly as she gasps and runs her finger across the gold necklace that is stored inside.

"Damon…it's beautiful." She pulls it out slowly and lets the heart shaped pendant rest on her palm.

"Turn it around." I smirk and watch as she does to see the **DE** engraved on the back. I know it's cheesy, and I know that it's cliché, but I know that Elena loves this stuff and by the look on her face right now I know I've done a good job.

"Damon, this must have cost you a fortune."

"Good job I just inherited a fortune then." I wink at her and she lets out a small laugh and shakes her head.

"This is real gold!" she almost sounds in disbelief and I nod my head with a smile.

"I know." I step closer and turn her around, taking the necklace from her hands as I do so. "Here, let me." Elena pushes her hair out of the way and I wrap the necklace around her neck before placing soft kisses along her collarbone and up her neck slowly.

"Thank you," she turns around to face me, her eyes glistening and a big smile on her face.

"You're very welcome, beautiful." I lean down and kiss her softly. "I love you."

"I love you too." She beams back at me.

* * *

I shiver as the cold night air hits me as I stand outside on the balcony that is part of the section of the venue that was hired for this evening.

I look around confused by Damon's text telling me to meet him here, wondering why he isn't here yet and I feel a little bad since I haven't seen him that much since we arrived into this room after our meal, but I kept on getting pulled away to talk to someone else before we could really get any time alone properly.

After he gave me the necklace, we only danced together once and it wasn't even for a full song before Caroline was pulling me over to the open bar, flirting with the bartender to persuade him to serve us more alcohol, which he didn't without even much persuasion.

I shiver again and jump slightly when I feel a hand on my shoulder and I turn around to see Damon stood there with a smile, looking devilishly handsome in his tight black shirt.

"Hey you." He smiles softly at me and I go to reply but notice a large envelope in his hands with a red bow tie wrapped around it.

"What's that?" I ask confused and his smile widens.

"You _really_ didn't think that the necklace I give you earlier was your main present did you?" he repeats his sentence from earlier with a twist and my heart starts pounding hard against my chest as I look at him in complete awe. "Come on, it's you're eighteenth." He smirks at me before handing me the envelope which I take with shaky hands. "I had to give you something special." He repeats his words from earlier word for word with a knowing smile.

"You already did," I move one of my other hands to my necklace and trace my finger over the heart shape resting against my chest. "Damon, this is too much."

"You haven't even opened it yet." He smiles at me and motions towards the envelope. "Go on, open it." He urges me, his voice soft but I can sense nerves there too and I wonder just what exactly is in this thing.

I eye him for a moment before loosening the bow and ripping open the top of the large envelope and peering inside, confused when I just see sheets of paper. I look back up at him confused.

"Read them." He sends me a lopsided smile.

My heart pounds faster as I pull them out and I start to read all the different names of places and dates and I don't understand any of this, my heart starts pounding even harder if that's possible as a voice is screaming in the back of my head telling me what this could be.

"I…I…" I stutter, not knowing what to say and Damon takes a step closer to me so we are almost toe to toe.

"Their receipts." He explains with a smile. "I think you can work it out from there."

And I can.

I look back down at all the hotel booking confirmations, the dates, and the flight numbers.

The cities standing out to me on the different sheets of papers, Paris, London, Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Lisbon, and Athens.

"You've said how much you've always wanted to travel." Damon speaks up after a few more moments of silence because honestly, I'm too shocked to even say anything. "How much you want to visit Europe. And I know that I've missed some places out, but we can always go back another time."

"Damon I-" I stutter and shake my head, my eyes burning with tears as I try to process what he has done. "I can't…this is too much."

"Not for you it's not," he takes another step closer so his body is flushed against mine and he takes one of my shaky hands in his. "I love you, Elena, and I want more than anything in the world to do this with you, to travel with you."

I blink, not sure what to say, not sure what to think.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this to happen.

"What about college?" I ask confused. "New York…"

"Ten weeks, Elena." He smiles, his other hand landing on my cheek. "We'll be gone for ten weeks, we leave for Venice the day after Graduation at the end of May and then we'll be back in Mystic Falls mid-August giving us enough time to pack and say goodbye to everyone before we go to New York in September." He smiles softly at me, his thumb stroking my cheeks gently and I close my eyes. "Trust me; I've thought this through a lot."

My eyes flutter open and I look at him still in a state of shock. "Damon…this…I mean…I feel bad, this must have cost you a fortune, a real fortune." I tell him seriously. "This isn't fair on you, and I don't want you to blow all your inheritance on me."

Damon laughs, he actually laughs.

"Elena, I've had this planned way before I got my inheritance." He tells me seriously and I gawp at him surprised. "I mean sure, because of it I got to add some extra places in there I didn't have originally, like Barcelona and Rome, it was initially one city per country, but this was before all that money, Elena."

"That just makes me feel worse!" I tell him honestly, although I can't help the laugh that falls from my lips. "This is crazy, you're crazy!"

"I love you." He tells me simply. "I'm so madly, insanely in love with you. I just want to make you happy, and I want to do this with you, this isn't just your dream, Elena, it's mine too. So why can't we do it together? I mean sure, it's a lot earlier than planned, but we can do the whole Asia and South America thing once college is over with. I just hope you can put up with me for nearly three months, because it probably won't be easy and I'm sure we'll drive each other crazy sometimes, but I want to do this, I want to do this more than anything in the world and most importantly, I want to do this with _you_. Please accept this, Elena."

I realize that I'm crying now and before I can even think about it further I crash my lips against his in a searing kiss, the tears running down my cheeks still but I don't care as he deepens the kiss and pins me back against the railings of the balcony.

"Yes, yes, yes!" I gasp, pulling away from him breathlessly. "Oh my god!" one of my hands lets go of my previous tight grip on his shirt and covers my mouth in shock. "We're going to Europe!"

"We are!" Damon grins at me happily.

A sob escapes my lips as I shake my head in disbelief. "God, I have so much that I need to do! I need to go shopping and… tell everyone! To tell Jenna, she will be so excited!"

"Jenna knows." Damon confesses meekly. "I had to make sure that your passport was in date," he explains. "I was going to ask you but I didn't want you to get suspicious."

"Was she ok with it?" I ask curiously, because as much as I know that she'll be excited that I get to do this, I know that she'll be worried too.

"Yeah." He nods his head with a smile. "She was a little skeptical at first, and I got the whole _you better look after her_ and treat you well while we are a million miles away from home speech, but after that she was excited, in fact, she helped me out with planning the extra dates in there, I wasn't very good at trying to work out how many days we would need to stay where before flying back home."

I shake my head in disbelief. "What did I do to deserve you, huh?"

"That's a silly question, Elena." He smiles at me before stepping back and pulling me with him, one of his hands sliding around my waist while the other takes my hand tightly and before I know it we are flushed together swaying slowly, dancing to the lingering music that could be heard from inside and I realize that I've never ever felt happier in my life than I do right now.

"Damon?" I whisper into his neck as my chin rests on his shoulder.

"Mhm?" Damon mumbles quietly into the night air, his grip around me tightening slightly.

"I'm so madly, insanely in love with you too." I smile and press a soft kiss against his neck slowly. "Thank you."

He pulls his head back slightly to look at me and the smile on his face makes my heart melt. He doesn't need to say anything back, we both know it, and he presses a small soft kiss on my lips before my head falls back into the crook of his neck.

"Hey," I pull back slightly and look at him with a seductive smile. "Did you still want to get that hotel?" I question and watch as Damon's eyes immediately light up as he eyes me up and down slowly, causing me to gulp slightly under his smoldering gaze.

"I knew I loved you for a reason, Elena Gilbert."

* * *

**And that was Damon's surprise! Well done to the person who guessed correctly!**

**Thanks for reading, I think this story only has 1 more chapter in it + an epilogue! I can't believe it's almost over, it's been a good run and I want to thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following! I know I say this almost every chapter, but I'm sure other authors on here will know that reviews and such really do help to keep stories going.**

**Thanks again, hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Until next time! **


	46. Chapter 46

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**So this is it! The last official chapter of Crying Lightning, I really hope you enjoy the chapter: **

* * *

"Damon Salvatore, don't you dare!" I freeze as I walk into the large gym which is currently full of half made banners and balloons.

Caroline is stood in front of me with one hand on her hip, the other holding her arm out almost as if she is trying to stop me from coming any further.

"What?" I ask confused as I look around the semi crowded room looking for my girlfriend.

"I know why you're here." She tells me crossly, her glare making me glare right back.

"And why is that?"

"You're going to take Elena away, and she can't go yet because she is needed _here_ and we are running so behind and prom is just tomorrow night and we are _nowhere near_ ready and I swear to god, if you convince Elena to leave with you right now, I will kick your skinny ass, Salvatore!" she rants at me without even taking a single breath and I roll my eyes.

"Oh please, like one person will make a difference!" I scoff and go to walk past her but she side steps in front of me and places her hand firmly on my chest. I look down at her hands with a scowl and a raised eyebrow and she immediately huffs before removing them.

"Leave!"

"_No_."

"Damon!" she stomps her foot on the ground like a child. "It's bad enough you are taking her away from us for ten freaking weeks, can we please have some friendship time before she goes!"

"Oh please, you still have another week before we go." I roll my eyes again at her dramatics.

"I don't care, Damon! Go, before she sees you!"

I sigh and turn to leave, thinking that it would probably be easier for my head to just go for now and wait for Elena to come and see me but then an idea pops into my head and I turn back around, a fake nervous look on my face as I approach Caroline who has already turned her attention onto some other pour soul, shouting something about what flavour punch is needed.

"Caroline?"

"Are you still here?!" she groans loudly and turns to face me.

"Do you know what colour dress Elena is wearing?" I dig my hands into my pockets and shuffle on my feet for added effect.

"What? She's wearing a dark pink; you should know this, Damon! I told you about this weeks ago!"

"Well I forgot." I reply in fake defensiveness.

"So you don't have a matching corsage?!" she gawps at me in disbelief and I stay silent for a moment before answering.

"Actually…I kind of don't even have my tux yet, that's why I needed Elena."

"What!" she shrieks at me loudly, causing some people around us to turn their heads and look at us for a moment. "Are you freaking kidding me, Damon?! Prom is _tomorrow_! Tomorrow!" she reaches her hand out and smacks me in the shoulder.

"Oy!" I groan and rub my shoulder in annoyance, that actually hurt!

"You're such an idiot, Damon!"

"I know, but I forgot-"

"How the hell-" she cuts herself off after cutting me off and shakes her head in disbelief. "Oh my god, you are going to ruin my best friend's senior prom! You're such an ass!" she throws her clipboard down on a table next to us and swings around. "Elena! Elena!" she shouts in the crowded gym and I struggle to hide my smirk as Elena is suddenly in sight and is approaching us.

"What now Care?" She sounds fed up and tired but I watch as a smile crosses her face once she spots me. "Damon? What are you doing here?"

"Being a pain in my ass, that's what!" Caroline huffs and Elena raises her eyebrow at me curiously but I just shrug. "Elena, your idiot of a boyfriend doesn't even know what colour dress you're wearing, and he hasn't even gotten his tuxedo! Doesn't he know that prom is _tomorrow_!"

Elena frowns and looks over Caroline's shoulder at me and I just wink and watch as a look of realisation crosses her face and she immediately plasters on a look of annoyance.

"Damnit Damon, I've told you like ten times already!"

"I know babe, but you know this past week has been completely hectic and it slipped my mind."

"Caroline, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to take him to the mall myself, I don't trust him to go alone." Elena smiles apologetically at her friend and Caroline mutters something under her breath before nodding her head in agreement.

"Fine, but you better be here tomorrow first thing, Elena. No excuses!"

"Of course Caroline, there is no better way I would rather spend my Saturday morning." Elena smiles but Caroline is too stressed to sense the sarcasm in her tone and she quickly huffs and picks up her clipboard again and wondering off.

I watch her go in complete astonishment before Elena regains my attention as she steps in front of me and grabs my hand, pulling me outside of the stuffy gym into the warm Friday afternoon sun.

"So…I'm pretty sure I took you tuxedo fitting two days ago and we bought it there and then, and unless I dreamt it, Jenna told me this morning that she has your corsage for you to give to me." She smirks at me as we walk towards my car.

"Oh _yeah_." I tap my finger against my lips. "I forgot all about that, _oops_." I smirk at her and she giggles cutely for a moment before letting out a loud sigh.

"Thank you for saving me, she was driving me _crazy_!"

"I figured that would have been the case." I chuckle as I open my car door for her and help her inside before running around to the driver's seat.

"I kinda feel bad for leaving Bonnie behind." Elena smiles slightly as we pull out of the parking lot.

"Meh, I'm sure she can manage. She's had years of practise, right?"

"Yeah, but so have I and it doesn't make it any easier. Trust me, I love Caroline, but she is like an event Nazi, she just takes the fun away from things when party planning!"

"She is neurotic that's for sure." I smirk at her and Elena smiles and shakes her head and I watch from the corner of my eye as she runs a hand through her hair.

"Just think in two weeks time we'll be in Venice, eating fabulous Italian food and drinking fine wine, seeing some legendary sites from a gondola ride along the canal." She sighs wistfully, a dreamy smile on her face. "I can't wait."

"Not long now," I grin and reach my hand across to clasp onto hers. "Just gotta get prom and graduation out of the way."

"You make them sound like chores."

I shrug slightly. "Both events aren't really my thing, Elena."

"Graduation isn't your thing?" she asks amused.

I smirk. "Well, it _did_ take me an extra year to get there."

She chuckles softly and squeezes my hand. "But you did get there, Damon. I'm so freaking proud of you, especially after everything that's happened…last with year with Katherine and Klaus, this year with Kol. You did good Salvatore."

I feel my cheeks burning up and do my best to hide it, clearing my throat slightly before speaking. "So, do you want to go grab something to eat now or shall we just order in?"

"Damon," Elena sighs and shuffles along the seat so she is by my side. "Don't change the subject."

"I'm not." I defend myself immediately but I know that there is no use. "I'm just trying to think ahead, there's no point going back to your place if we have to go back out later for food."

I keep my eyes firmly on the road as she presses a soft kiss onto my cheek. "I love you." She whispers into my ear before kissing my cheek again. "So much, and I am so proud of you, Damon, don't you forget that, ok?"

"Ok." I smile slightly and unclasp our hands to rest it on her thigh, squeezing it gently for a moment before letting it rest there too. "Thank you." I murmur after a few moments of silence and I see her smile again.

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Almost done." Caroline smiles as she adds the finishing touches to my makeup just as the doorbell rings from downstairs. "Ah, that'll be the boys!" she practically squeals as she jumps to her feet, well, as much as she can in the tight fitting vintage white dress she is wearing.

I glance at myself in the mirror one last time before taking a deep breath and turning to leave the room but Caroline freezes causing both me and Bonnie to stop.

"What is it, Care?" Bonnie asks concerned.

"I just want to have a moment," Caroline turns around and I can see her eyes glistening. "And I'm going to try really hard not to cry because it took me hours to perfect this make up earlier and I don't want to mess it up, but I really want to say that I'm really happy to be here." She says with a shaky voice and I feel my throat clogging up as she continues. "I know we've all been through a lot over the years, personal issues, friendship issues, family issues, _boys_." She rolls her eyes slightly and I let out a small laugh. "But look at us, here we are about to go to our _senior prom_! We dreamt about this moment since we were little girls, I remember the three of us being sat right here in this very room when we were nine years old and Elena's Mom was showing us photos of her prom, and I saw a photo of her, my Mom and Bonnie's Mom, and I thought to myself, we are going to be them one day, the three of us."

"And here we are." Bonnie grins with an emotional smile. "We made it."

"We did." I agree.

"And I know that things are going to change soon, I mean, I'm moving to California, Elena is moving to New York after going to freaking _Europe_ for nearly three months! And Bon, I know that you're not going far for college, but things are still going to change, and I don't know…" she trails and wipes at her eyes. "Change _sucks_."

"It does." Bonnie agrees with a watery smile and I let out a shaky laugh.

"Group hug?" I suggest with a grin and they both immediately nod their heads before wrapping our arms around each other. "I love you girls." I murmur quietly and smile when I hear their replies of the same.

"Ok, enough tears!" Caroline pulls away first. "We have hot dates waiting for us downstairs!"

"Yes we do!" I grin and Bonnie just rolls her eyes, muttering something about how we are all supposed to be going as a group of friends and I smile and make a joke about her and Matt becoming Prom King and Queen.

As soon as I reach the top of the stairs my heart starts pounding hard against my chest when I see Damon stood below. He hasn't seen me yet, instead he is stood chatting to my Aunt Jenna, a smile on both of their faces as they share a joke and my heart flutters at the sight because nothing makes me happier than seeing a smile on Damon's face and the sound of laughter escaping his lips.

I start to walk down the stairs and watch as Damon finally turns his head and notices me, his smile immediately fades and my heart only starts to pound harder by the look on his face as I get down to the bottom, Damon holding his hand out for me to take the second I reach the last step.

"Hi." I smile shyly at him.

"Hi." He smiles back before leaning down and kissing me softly on the lips before pulling me to the side away from everyone else. "You look…_beautiful_." He runs a hand down my arm, his fingers grazing my skin and leaving goosebumps in his wake. "Stunning, amazing…words cannot describe how much…" he trips on his words slightly and I feel my cheeks redden. "How _gorgeous_ you look."

I blush at his words and eye him up and down myself, he is dressed in a slick and smart black and white tuxedo, and I smile at the wonky bow tie wrapped around his neck. "Here," I reach my hands up and fix it with a grin before leaning up and kissing him. "Much better." I pat him on the chest. "You scrub up well, Salvatore, very dashing."

"Well, I try my best." He smirks and winks at me and I giggle as I go to run my fingers through his hair but stop myself when I realise he has actually gone through the effort to comb it for once, instead of it being its usual hot messy locks.

"Is that hair gel?" I ask amused but he just rolls his eyes.

"Shut it you." He laughs and shakes his head and I wrap my arms around him, my right arm running down his side and over his chest and I frown when I feel something under his tux jacket.

I raise my eyebrow and pat it questionably and Damon lets out a sigh before pulling out a flask. "Damon!"

"What?" he asks innocently, a cheeky smile crawling onto his lips. "It's _prom_, Elena, someone has to spike the punch." He winks at me and I let out a small laugh and shake my head as he slips it back inside his pocket.

Caroline is going to _kill_ him.

"Hey you two!" I turn around to see Jenna waving a camera around. "Stop being so anti-social and get back over here! We need to take plenty of photos!"

Damon groans slightly but I drag him along none the less and to be fair on him he acts like the perfect gentleman and poses for all the photos Jenna asks him of, even one of just him, Tyler and Matt which I know he will not be happy about.

He mentioned something the night before about not getting cheesy prom photos, and that the only photos he would be in would be the ones with me, but then again, he said that before he witnessed my Aunt Jenna with a camera!

"Hey, where is Stefan? I thought he was coming in our limo?" Caroline asks curiously and I glance at Damon questionably when I realise that Caroline is right, Stefan isn't here.

"He said he would meet us there." Damon replies stiffly. "He was running late, he had a hair dilemma, you know what he gets like when his hair doesn't comb over the right way."

"It's weird without Stefan here." Bonnie comments casually.

I look at Damon curiously, not at all buying his excuse but I decide not to dwell on it, instead I loop my arm through his as we go outside, Jenna insisting on taking more photos of all of us stood outside the limo, before we climb inside.

Once we arrive at the school, I wait for everyone to climb out of the limousine before grabbing Damon's hand to stop him from following. He turns his head and looks at me curiously.

"Want to tell me the real reason Stefan isn't here?"

Damon sighs loudly and glances briefly back at the door. "It's no big deal; he just thought it would be weird to come to prom with you after everything…"

I stay silent as I think about it, prom was always something Stefan and I talked about a lot, people around us always said that we'd be crowned Prom King and Queen and that our senior year would be perfect. I remember days when we all sat around the table at lunch, talking about the next football game before someone changed the subject to Prom and we'd get all excited, planning our dresses and matching tuxedo's for the boys. I had Stefan's outfit all planned out since the start of junior year.

We had it all mapped out.

Damon looks at me for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. "This is why I didn't want to tell you, because I knew it would upset you."

"I'm not upset." I immediately defend myself but Damon just sends me a small smile.

"It's ok, Elena. I get it."

"Damon-"

"What are you two doing?!" Caroline leans down into the doorway. "Come on! This is _friend prom_ remember, we all have to walk in together!"

She practically drags me out of the limo, and loops her arm through mine, Bonnie immediately coming on the other side and we all walk along the red carpet slowly, watching with smiles at the photos that flash on the screens around us.

My smile however drops when a photo of me and Stefan comes into focus, it was taken of us dancing at a decade dance a year ago, both of us have smiles on our faces and we look happy.

I turn my head and glance behind me where Damon is walking alongside Tyler and Matt, and I watch as his eyes find the image before landing on me. He just shrugs casually and takes a chug from his flask and I sigh turning back around as we continue to walk on.

The second we walk inside a smile crosses my face as I see the room looking as fabulous as Caroline imagined it. It all looks so easy now, but it took so much time and effort into turning this gymnasium into what it is right now.

"Ah." Caroline grins wistfully. "Perfect."

She unloops her arm from mine and wonders off to make sure that everything is ok, insisting that she needs to do at least one sweep of the room to make sure everything is running smoothly before she can even think about enjoying herself.

I take this opportunity to walk back to Damon who is stood unfazed in his tuxedo by the doorway, his hands in his pocket as he scans the room and my breath catches in my throat when I eye him up and down, still not getting over how absolutely handsome he looks tonight and judging by the glances over girls keep sending him already, I'm not the only one.

"Damon," I step in front of him and he looks down at me with a smile, his hand immediately resting on my hip and I'm glad for the comfort. "About before…"

"Elena, don't stress." He smiles as his other hand runs down my bare arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake. "You don't have to explain anything to me, I get it, you and Stefan have history, and memories, you both had plans about what this night would be."

"No." I shake my head firmly. "That's all gone, Damon. I don't even think about him anymore. It just shocked me when you mentioned the reason Stefan wasn't travelling with us, because the thought of him never even crossed my mind." I tell him honestly. "He's right, we had prom all mapped out, but…I don't regret a single thing, I don't want any of that, all I want is to be here with _you_ and my friends and to have fun." I place my hand on his chest, the white fabric of his shirt cool against my sweaty palms that I always get when I'm in his presence. "All that is history, sometimes, when I'm with you, it's like it didn't even happen."

"But it did happen."

"I know." I place my other hand on his cheek. "And I don't regret a thing, because if I hadn't of dated Stefan I may never have gotten to know you." I smile and my heart flutters as I see Damon's cheeks redden. "I love you." I lean up on my feet and press a soft kiss on his lips.

"I love you too." He murmurs against my mouth before kissing me again slowly, his grip on my hips tightening as he deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine as he groans hungrily, our breaths and moans moulded together as one of his hands slides up my side, his fingers grazing the side of my breast and I shiver against him.

"Put her down, Salvatore!"

"_Dude_," Damon groans in annoyance as turn to see Alaric approaching us with a smirk. "You _really_ need to stop doing that!"

Alaric chuckles as he takes a sip of the punch before letting out a grimace and placing it on the side. "I need something to keep me amused while I'm stuck chaperoning you hormonal teens. I hate this stuff, I was hoping that some idiot would have spiked the punch to make this a little bit more bearable but you lot aren't even smart enough to do that."

I see Damon smirk from the corner of my eye and I immediately grip his hand tightly to keep his mouth shut.

"You scrub up alright, Mr Saltzman." I grin at him in his grey suit and dark red tie, he just shrugs casually with his hands in his pockets and it kind of reminds me of Damon.

"You're looking rather beautiful yourself Elena." He compliments and I smile. "Even your boyfriend can work a tuxedo when he wants too. Told you it wasn't hard, Damon, to dress up. Wow, you've even done your hair!" he reaches his hand across to touch it but Damon immediately slaps it away.

"Leave him alone, he look's dashing." I smile at his teasing, my arm wrapping around Damon's waist as I rest my head onto his shoulder.

"Hear that Ric? Dashing." Damon smirks at him and Alaric chuckles before his smile fades and he lets out a loud groan.

"Excuse me, I spot two angsty teenagers about to get into a scrap!" he quickly rushes off and I shake my head with a smile and Damon pats his suited jacket purposefully.

"I think I'm going to go and spike that punch now." He winks at me before pressing a kiss to my cheek and wondering off towards the punch bowl.

I watch him go with a smile on my face, not even caring about all the lustful glances he keeps getting from other girls.

* * *

I smile when I spot Elena laughing and talking with some of her friends sat around one of the large tables in the room. I go to approach her, to ask her for another dance but I stop myself when I see Bonnie stood at the edge of the dance floor alone, a sullen look on her face.

"What crawled up your ass and died Witchy?" I approach her with a smirk and she immediately rolls her eyes.

"Not now, Damon." She tries to fight the smile that is creeping onto her lips but it's too late.

"Dance?" I hold out my hand and she raises her eyebrow at me surprised.

"_You_ want to dance with _me_?"

I shrug casually. "Elena is busy being a _girl_," I nod towards where she is comparing dresses with friends. "I've got nothing else to do."

"Fine." Bonnie sighs loudly before placing her hand in mine and I smirk and pull her into the fairly crowded dance floor.

She wraps her other hand behind my shoulder and I place my hand at a respectable place on her waist as we move to the music.

"You know, I never once thought I'd have Bonnie Bennett of all people pressed up against me at prom." I wiggle my eyebrows at her jokingly and she laughs and shakes her head.

"_Behave_."

"Always." I grin at her and we fall into a comfortable silence as we sway from side to side. "So…" I break the silence. "Want to tell me why Little Gilbert is stuck at home in his sweatpants killing zombies on his Xbox while you're here alone looking absolutely _miserable_."

"Ok, _one_, this is a friendship Prom, aka, I'm not alone, and _two_, what does Jeremy have to do with anything?" she asks defensively and I chuckle and shake my head.

"Oh _come on_ Sabrina, I saw the goo goo eyes you were giving each other when we went to Gladstone. I know there is something going on over there."

"Well you're wrong, because Jeremy is just…_Jeremy_. He's Elena's _little_ brother for Christ's sake." She mutters like she is trying to convince herself of something.

"Ah." I click my tongue in my mouth. "So you're scared about what Elena is going to think if her best friend starts dating her baby bro?"

Bonnie just rolls her eyes at my assumption and I continue. "What? You're worried she'll hate you for it or something? It's her best friend and her brother, why would she hate that? Sure, she may be a little weirded out by it at first, but I know her, she'll get over it."

"And what if she doesn't?" her eyes drift sideways and I follow her gaze to where Elena is sat, still giggling with friends, noticing that Caroline has joined them too. "What if she hates it? What if she hates _me_ for it?"

"Then play dirty." I smirk at her. "Remind her that she's dating the bad boy older brother of her sweet goody two shoes ex-boyfriend." I wink at her before twirling her around.

Bonnie laughs and shakes her head as she crashes back into me. "_Reformed_ bad boy." She corrects me pointedly with a smile.

"Ssh." I wiggle my eyebrows at her again. "Don't tell anyone that part, I have a reputation to uphold."

* * *

I smile as I watch Damon twirl Bonnie around on the dance floor once more, glad that he gets along with at least one of my best friends.

I think I would die in shock if I saw him acting like that with Caroline.

I stand up from my chair around the table and make my way across the room towards the punch bowl, very much aware of Damon spiking it but I know I will enjoy the small buzz. I start to pour some into one of the plastic cups before taking a sip, turning around and watching Damon and Bonnie dance with a smile.

I know she was feeling pretty bummed about not having a date for prom, which is why Caroline and I decided we should all go together as friendship dates, and despite the idea, I know it would be hard to go to prom as a group of friends when two thirds of the group are couples.

"I'd be careful with that punch, rumour has it it's been spiked." I turn my head to see Isobel approaching me with a smile and I immediately bite on my lip as I eye the cup in my hand. "But I'm guessing from the guilty look on your face you already knew that." She smirks at me and I shrug slightly, going to place the cup onto the table behind me but she holds out her hand on my arm to stop me. "Don't worry about it, Elena, it's _prom_, enjoy yourself."

"Thanks," I smile shyly before taking a sip.

"You look amazing by the way." She comments. "You're dress is beautiful."

"Thank you." I reply sincerely as I turn my eyes back to the dance floor, this time Damon's eyes are on me and when our gazes meet he winks at me with that devilish smirk and my breath hitches in my throat.

"So…do you have any plans this summer?" Isobel breaks the little trance we were in and I clear my throat awkwardly, snapping my thoughts away from Damon and back to her, turning to face her slightly.

"Um…" I trail nervously because I still haven't told her about Europe. "Yes actually."

"Oh, anything special?" she asks curiously. "I'm sure you'll be wanting to spend as much time as possible with your family and friends before you move to New York, and…I don't want to push my luck, but I was hoping that we could spend some more time together this summer too, get to know each other a bit better, and maybe, when you're ready, you could meet James and Amber?"

"I uh…" I trail awkwardly, not really sure what to say because prom was the last place I wanted to have this conversation. "Damon's taking me to Europe." I blurt it out quickly, a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watch her reaction.

Her eyes widen slightly and her smile fades as she blinks a few times and looks down at the table beside us. "Europe…wow." She turns her head back to face me, a smile back on her lips. "That should be an experience…how long?"

"Ten weeks." I say and watch as her smile falters again but it doesn't completely fade this time. "We're going to travel, starting in Italy and ending in London." I can't help but smile as I think about it, that feeling of excitement creeping up on me again.

"Ten weeks." She sounds shocked. "That's a long time, and…this is just you and Damon?" there is no hidden tone to her voice other than surprise, it doesn't sound like she totally hates my boyfriend anymore, even though she insists she never hated him in the first place, I know the two of them don't exactly get along, and that was long before we even found out she was my birth mother.

"He organised the whole thing as a surprise for my birthday," I can't help but smile. "I told him how much I wanted to travel; I just never thought I'd get to do it this soon."

"That's amazing, Elena." She smiles genuinely. "I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time."

"Thank you."

"So…I guess this next week or so will be your last in Mystic Falls?" she asks somewhat sadly. "I doubt you'll have much time here once you get back before moving to New York."

"No," I confirm. "We leave the day after graduation and get back mid August so I'll only have two weeks weeks here before going to Columbia."

"And I'm sure you'll be busy packing and seeing your friends…"

"I'll make sure to contact you when I get back." I interrupt her, surprising both her and myself. It's not usually me who is the one to make plans between us. Everything so far has been Isobel, and I have either just been agreeing or declining. "Two weeks is enough time to get to know each other a little better, and besides, it's not like I'll be moving away forever, I'll be back here for Thanksgiving and Christmas and then there's summer break, maybe even Easter."

"Sorry to interrupt." I turn my head to see Damon approaching us with a smile. "But I'd like to ask this beautiful lady to dance." He winks at me and I immediately blush, glancing back at Isobel who has a small smile on her face.

"Go ahead." She motions with her hand out and I send her a quick smile before taking a hold of the hand Damon was holding out for me and following him to the dance floor.

"So…are you ok?" he asks curiously as he wraps one arm around me as the other still holds my hand up in the air beside us, my hand immediately touching his chest, the tips of my fingers resting on his shoulder as he pulls me close so our bodies are flushed together. "I wasn't sure whether or not to come over…"

"No," I press my head against his, my lips by his ear. "I'm glad you did, I've missed you."

"I missed you more." He whispers huskily into my ear and I gulp as his hand runs slowly down my lower back, stroking along the curve of my backside before sliding higher again. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Mhm." I close my eyes as he pushes himself even closer against me and my entire body shudders as his head dips and presses an open mouthed kiss against my neck, he slowly grazes his teeth along my neck before kissing it again and I gasp slightly before he pulls away again.

"Good." He murmurs with a low voice and I almost squeal in shock as he lifts out our arms that our holding hands before spinning me around, I smile and the second I return back to him his lips crash against mine and I moan into his mouth as he kisses me hungrily, my arm leaves his chest to wrap around his neck, pulling him as close to me as possible as I kiss him back just as hungrily, our breaths hot and mounded together and our kisses wet and open.

"Damon," I pull away slightly after a few moments, getting caught up in the moment and I feel my cheeks redden as I realize we are stood right in the middle of a crowded dance floor.

"Sorry." He smiles wickedly at me, letting me know that he is anything _but_ sorry. He then surprises me and dips me down, his arm wrapped firmly behind my waist holding me, before he ducking his head down to kiss my chest slowly, his kisses trailing upwards until they land on my lips for the briefest of seconds before he pulls me right back up straight again and I look at him completely dazed. "Actually, not that sorry." He wiggles his eyebrows at me and my cheeks and chest feel like they are on fire right now.

"People are watching," he pulls me back against him and I lean the side of my head back against his again, our lips milometers away from each other and if we moved our sides to the side slightly, they would be touching.

"So?" he runs his hand up and down my back again slowly.

"So? People as in Alaric and…Isobel."

"So?" he repeats himself as he tilts his head back to look at me. "I love you; maybe I want to show the whole world how much?"

My stomach flutters and another blush creeps onto my cheeks and I can't help the smile that strains my lips. "You make me forget the people around us sometimes." I admit. "You consume me."

"And you consume me." He smiles softly at me, his arm leaving my back for a moment to graze my cheek with his fingers. "You're so beautiful."

I smile at his words and lean my forehead against his, closing my eyes to take this moment in because there is only one word to describe how I am feeling right now and that is _happy_.

Dancing at prom with the man I love more than anything in the world, who I am completely and utterly in love with, with my friends around me, and graduation around the corner, knowing that I will be moving onto bigger and better things at Columbia with Damon at my side, and the thought of spending an amazing two and a half months across Europe all summer with him makes shivers run down my spine in the _best_ kind of way.

I open my eyes slowly to see his fierce ones staring back at me and it literally takes my breath away. I can't help but smile when I look into his drawing blue eyes, the color so unique and so _Damon_, and my smile widens when I see absolutely no hurt or pain in them anymore, he is no longer the troubled lost soul that I first fell in love with all those months ago, just like I'm not that scared little girl who was too afraid to do anything out of my comfort zone, too afraid to do anything out of the social norm, afraid of disappointing people and not doing what was expected of me.

He's _happy_ now and it's the best feeling in the world to know that I'm part of that, that I'm a part of his life and hopefully will be for the rest of it.

I know some people will say that we're too young to know, but I _do_ know, I _do_ know that someday I'm going to marry this boy, that I'm going to see the world with him, that I'm going to make a family with him, that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him.

_I know it._

Damon Salvatore makes me feel brave, he makes me feel happy, but most importantly, he makes me feel _alive_.

"What are you thinking about beautiful?" he runs his thumb down my cheek before it gently crosses my lips and I smile and kiss it gently, watching as a soft smile crosses his own perfect lips.

"You." I lean forward and kiss him softly before pulling away, watching his eyes flutter open slowly and my heart skips a beat just like it always does. "I'm always thinking about _you_."

And I know that I will be forever.

* * *

**Wow, letting out a deep breath right now! **

**Thank you so so much to everyone who has been along for the ride with this story, some of you have been reading from the very beginning, others joined in a little later but each of you who has read this I am totally thankful too because I wouldn't have been able to finish it without you!**

**The epilogue is still to come, but for me, this was the defining ending of the story. I chose to end it in Elena's POV, simply because it started in Damon's, while he was feeling so lost and alone, so I wanted it to end in hers to show that he now has someone who completely one hundred percent understands him and loves him and supports him.**

**I hope you all enjoyed the story, and thank you to every single one of you who reviewed! I will be replying to all your reviews for this chapter, it's the least I can do :)**

**Thanks again for reading, and this will be the last time I say it, but…**

**Until next time! **


	47. Epilogue

**Crying Lightning**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.**

**Epilogue**

* * *

I pull off my towel and slip into my underwear and jeans before glancing at the time; I'm running on schedule so far so I take a moment to myself in the middle of this crazy hectic week.

Between preparing for graduation, buying clothes and essentials for our Europe trip and packing, I feel like I haven't really had a lot of time to let this all sink in.

I feel like I've barely seen Elena since prom, she's a popular girl and between Caroline and Bonnie, her Aunt Jenna and her brother, I've literally been fighting for her time.

It's ok though, I didn't get mad when she delayed our plans or cancelled them because she was caught up with something or someone else. I'm going to spend almost three months with her travelling and then the rest of my life.

We have time.

I think back to this time last year, I was alone and bitter and _so_ angry at the world. I didn't think that I'd ever be able to move on from what happened, never mind fall in love. I was alone, in every sense of the word, and I felt so sure at the time that my life would never get any better.

I remember going to a bar in some random town I found myself in looking for Klaus, I can't even remember the name or which state it was in, but I went inside, I bought a drink, I met a girl, and I used her for sex for a place to stay the night and for a way to fill in a gaping hole in my heart.

I realise now how stupid I was.

I look across at my cap and gown that is laid out on my bed with a laugh. I never thought I'd ever make graduation, even before the shooting incident happened, and to think that I'm even going to college, and not just a community one, a real one, is just surreal.

It's all down to one person though.

"Hey you."

I swing around surprised to see that I'm not alone and turn to see Elena stood in my doorway, her hands crossed in front of her as she leans against the frame.

"What are you doing here?" I ask surprised. "I thought you were getting dressed with the girls."

"I was…" she walks closer and wraps her arms around my neck, my hands immediately landing on her hips. "I _am_. But I feel like I haven't seen you in forever and I thought I'd stop by on my way to Caroline's house to say _hello_." She stands on her tip toes so are lips are almost touching.

"Well I'm glad you did." I whisper with a grin before leaning down and kissing her slowly. "I've missed you."

"Today is going to be a long day." She rests her head against my shoulder, her arms falling from my neck to wrap around my back and immediately pull her tighter against me, my arms wrapping around her waist and I kiss the top of her head, my nose immediately taking in the unique scent of her shampoo.

"I know, but before we know it it'll be over and tomorrow we'll be on a flight to Italy." I smile just thinking about it.

"I can't wait." She sighs wistfully and we just stay silent for a few minutes, basking in this moment alone before things go back to chaos again. "You know what else I can't wait for?" she pulls away and looks at me with a smile, one of her hands coming up to rest on my cheek.

"What?"

"Hearing your name being called out to collect your diploma." She says with a smirk. "Seeing the look on every single persons face who ever doubted you in this town when you walk across that stage with your head held high." She traces her thumb slowly on my cheek and I gulp slightly as I feel a blush crossing my cheeks.

Damon Salvatore does not blush.

"I am so proud of you." She finishes before kissing me softly and when her phone starts ringing loudly interrupting us, I can't help but feel relieved because I'm still not used to this feeling that Elena gives me when she says things like _that_ to me.

"God, it's Caroline." Elena groans and pulls out her phone from her jeans pocket. "Hello?" she rolls her eyes slightly and I can hear snippets of Caroline's loud wailing voice through the phone and she does not sound happy. "I know I'm late Care, I'll be 5 minutes ok…No, I'm not at Damon's…" she smiles at me and I let out a small silent laugh before closing the small distance between us and kissing her on the cheek, mouthing the word _'go'_ to her with a smile.

Elena attempts to smooth things over with Caroline and runs her hand down my arm before waving me goodbye and leaving the room and I shake my head with a smile before turning back to face the dark red cap and gown on my bed.

I've made it.

* * *

"Elena."

I turn around and force a smile when I see my Uncle John walking towards me. I feel hot and stuffy in my gown and I take the cap off my head as he gets closer.

Graduation went by smoothly, and Caroline was right, I got the feeling that it was a right of passage as I walked up onto that stage to collect my diploma, Jenna and Jeremy sat in the audience with proud smiles on their faces as they clap and cheer.

I noticed John was there too, and for once, it didn't make me feel mad.

"Hi. You're back." I state simply.

"I wouldn't miss your graduation." He smiles softly at me. "Well done, Elena, I'm proud of you." He sounds sincere. "And I know that your parents would be too."

I smile sadly at his words. "Thank you." I say and meaning it.

"So…I hear you're going to have an interesting summer…" he begins with a skeptic look on his face.

"Please don't start Uncle John..." I sigh exhausted, it was going so well/

"No, no." he immediately holds up his hands in defence. "I'm not going to say anything, just that you look after yourself and you be careful."

I feel my eyes widen in surprise for a second before composing myself and nodding my head. "Of course, and Damon will take care of me." I tell him seriously, knowing that he will probably never be my boyfriend's number one fan.

"No you know what, I may never understand what you see in him, but one thing is clear, he does love you." He admits with a forced smile. "I see that now, and I trust him to look after you."

"Elena!"

I turn around to see Isobel walking towards me with a smile on her face but the second she notices John over my shoulder it slowly fades.

"Isobel." John speaks first, breaking the awkward silence that has surrounded us and I do my best to not think about this situation right now.

It's too weird.

"John." Isobel nods at him somewhat politely and I cough awkwardly.

"I'll leave you both too it," John speaks up and squeezes my arm. "I'll see you before you go?"

"Sure." I nod my head, knowing that since Jenna is in a good mood she has probably invited him over to the house tonight for our little farewell party.

"So, you've finally graduated, huh? How are you feeling?" Isobel smiles at me and I shrug with a small smile.

"Weird." I admit as I lift up my arms, one of them holding the diploma in my hand. "Despite wearing this ridiculous gown, it still doesn't feel real."

"I can imagine." She smiles softly at me. "So, tomorrow huh?"

"Yep." I can feel the smile on my face widen. "Tomorrow."

"Send me a postcard?"

"I will." I tell her sincerely. "I'll send you a few."

"Thank you." She smiles and I swear I can see tears in her eyes but she hides it quickly. "Anyway, I better leave you too it, your family at calling for you."

I turn around to where Jenna, Alaric and Jeremy are stood a few feet away, Jenna's camera in her hand as she waves me over for what I know will be a dozen cheesy photos.

I think about inviting Isobel over to my house tonight but I think better of it if John is coming, besides, I still don't want to rush into things just yet and I already told her we could meet up just the two of us once I get back from Europe and before I move to New York.

"I'll see you…in a couple of months then?" I look back at her with a genuine smile and she nods her head, I'm about to walk away but before I get the chance her arms are wrapped around me in a hug.

I'm shocked a first, and a little unnerved by the gesture but slowly I feel my arms wrap around her slowly to return the hug.

She pulls away after a few moments and this time I definitely see the tears in her eyes before she can hide them.

"See you soon Elena." She says with a shaky voice before turning around and walking around.

I watch her go frozen and jump slightly when I feel a hand on my back.

"You ok?"

My entire body relaxes when I realise it's Damon.

"I am now." I turn around to face him with a smile. "You want to come get in cheesy photos with my Aunt Jenna?"

He rolls his eyes with a smile, Jenna now calling his name out too to come over. "Let's get this over with then." He sighs loudly but I can see the amusement in his eyes.

* * *

"You taking a breather?"

I turn around to see Stefan step out into the front porch.

"It's pretty crowded in there; don't think I could stand Caroline's wailing for a moment longer." I smirk at him a little, gesturing back to the emotional messes that are inside. After too many bottles of champagne, the girls turned on the waterworks when they realised how much their life was about to change.

"She's just going to miss her best friend." Stefan shrugs while stuffing his hands into his dress suit pockets. I shrug and loosen my dark blue tie a little. "We all will."

I glance at him from the corner of my eye as he stares out into the street, his hands pressed against the wooden railings of the porch as he stands beside me.

"Sometimes I forget," I break the silence as I look up at the bright stars above us. "That you loved her." I finish.

Stefan shrugs slightly. "She's a loveable girl."

"She really is." I confirm with a small smile. "But I never apologised."

Stefan shakes his head. "Damon…"

"No I'm serious, brother; I was an ass to you about certain things…especially when it came to Elena. She was your girlfriend and…well…I was inappropriate and I never thought to take your feelings into consideration, I realise that now and I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise to me, Damon." Stefan replies with a sigh. "We both acted like assholes, besides, it's obvious now that I'm not the Salvatore Elena is supposed to be with."

We fall into a small silence and it's comfortable and I appreciate it.

"I'm glad that she found you." Stefan speaks up again and I turn around this time to face him. "I really mean that."

"Thank you." I smile slowly at him. "That means a lot, to hear you say that."

"Well, it's the truth. I know that we've had our ups and downs, mostly downs, and not just to do with Elena, but…despite their slight overreaction inside because hey, it's not the end of the world, things are going to change in our lives and for you it starts tomorrow the second you and Elena get on that plane." He looks away for a second and I wait silently for him to continue. "But uh…I just…you're my brother and I love you, and no matter what happens, I just want you to be happy."

I stand frozen, unsure how to reply because Stefan and I have never really had a conversation like this before, not as genuine either.

"I want you to be happy too, little brother." I clear my throat slightly. "And I love you too, even when you are being a whiney idiot." I smile at him and he lets out a laugh and shakes his head before wrapping his arms around me in a hug, we pat each other on the back before pulling away and Stefan coughs awkwardly as we leave a massive gap between us.

"You ever need any tips to get girls in California, give me a call." I wink at him and he grins.

"I don't need tips from you, brother."

"Why? Big football star hitting Stanford doesn't make you any cooler when it comes to the ladies, Stef." I tease him jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah." Stefan waves me off. "You're out of practise. You've lost your game!"

"I don't need my game." I smirk. "I have Elena."

"You do." Stefan agrees with a smile and I watch slowly as it fades. "Hey uh…this came for you today." He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a letter and hands it to me. "It's from Dad."

"Oh." I look down at it awkwardly.

Giuseppe is still in Chicago taking care of the family business, we haven't seen him since we left to come back to Mystic Falls and he couldn't even make it back for one day for our graduation.

Or to see me before I disappear for three months.

"I'll let you read it." Stefan pats me on the back before wondering off back inside.

I sigh and slowly unfold the letter before reading it.

_Damon,_

_Who would have thought you'd finally make graduation? I'm not going to lie to you son, I certainly didn't. _

_But I'm glad you did._

_Ever since you were a boy you caused me stress, you were always too smart for your own good and I never knew how to handle you, and I don't mean this in the bad way that I know that you will immediately think of from me. You're a good kid, Damon, despite everything that has happened, despite all the terrible things that you have seen in your life, from me and other people._

_I wanted to write you and Stefan a letter to apologise for not being there today, but with you, I feel like I need to apologise for not being there for more than today. I know that we'll never be the best of friends, but I want you to know that I am proud of you son._

_You have grown up so much in the last year, and sometimes I wonder if you are even the same person. I don't know if it has to do with Elena Gilbert or if you just finally gave your head a shake and got over yourself, but either way, I am glad._

_Your mother will be so proud of you, and I'm sure that she is watching over you right now._

_I am sorry for everything you had to see that day, you were just a boy and I should never have blamed you._

_But the past is the past, and we need to move on. You're about to embark on a journey and who knows when the next time we will see each other will be. _

_So enjoy yourself, and take care of yourself._

_Dad._

I gulp slightly as I hold the letter with shaky hands, trying to fight the tears from springing in my eyes, because coming from Giuseppe, this letter is a _lot. _

He's never apologised to me for what happened with my Mom, for what I saw, for finding her when she died. He never apologised for blaming me.

Not once.

And now he has. Even if it is in the form of a letter, he has finally apologised.

"Damon?"

I turn around, my eyes wet and I immediately feel embarrassed when I see Caroline stood by the door.

"You ok?" she asks concerned and I nod my head and wipe my eyes.

"Of course Goldilocks." I scoff and roll my eyes slightly before clearing my throat. "This porch is taken so move along and find your own…"

She smiles slightly and nods her head before walking back inside, but not even 10 seconds later the door is opening again and Elena steps out.

"Hey," she looks at me concerned. "Caroline said I should come out here."

I sigh and let out a small laugh. "I'm fine."

"No you're not." She closes the gap between us and wraps her arms around me and I immediately feel better. "Talk to me."

"Stefan gave me this," I hold the letter out between us and Elena looks down at it confused. "It's from Giuseppe."

"Oh." She looks back up at me and I motion for her to take it. "Damon…"

"Read it, please." I practically beg her because I know I won't be able to talk to her about it just went but I want her to know, I want her to understand.

"Ok." She takes my hand and pulls me over to the porch swing and pushes me down into it, instead of sitting next to me though she sits on my lap, her legs resting on the rest of the swing as she sits on me sideways and wraps one of her arms around my neck before unfolding the letter.

I watch her eyes with my eyes as she reads the letter, and when she's done she neatly folds it back up and places it on the wood beside us and leans forward and kisses me slowly on the lips.

"I love you." She places her hand on my cheek. "So much, and I will _always_ love you, Damon."

"I love you too, Elena. _Always_." I smile and peck her nose quickly watching as she squirms slightly, scrunching it up cutely with a giggle. "This time tomorrow…" I trail while my hand runs up and down her arm as she shivers, despite the humid summer night.

"We'll be in Italy." She finishes for me with a smile.

We sit in silence for a while, stealing kisses and sneaking touches as we sit curled up together on the porch swing, swaying slowly backwards and forth, watching the bright stars that illuminate the small town that is Mystic Falls.

Everything seems so calm and content, and I like it, because despite my excitement about what tomorrow will bring in the next chapter of our lives, it's nice to just take this time out of my life, with Elena snuggled up in my arms, and just breathe and take in the moment, especially after the chaotic and emotional day that we have had.

Elena traces her fingers up and down my arm slowly and I smile and kiss her temple, watching as she smiles and sighs wistfully, her head leaning back into my chest as she nuzzles her face closer into me, her hand playing with the buttons on my shirt.

"Hey Lena." I murmur quietly into her ear, my lips tracing her skin and I smile as she shudders against me.

"Mhm?" she asks while closing her eyes, a small but happy smile on her face.

"One day I'm going to marry you."

I _know_ it.

_**The End.**_

* * *

**Wow! I need to take a breather here! I can't believe it's finished. I've never enjoyed writing a story as much as I have enjoyed writing this one, and I am so happy to have so many dedicated readers who came along with me for the ride!**

**When I first started this, I never ever thought it would reach 20 chapters never mind 47! In my head when I started, I always had this ending that after Damon found out it was Kol who killed Katherine, he would move on with his life with Elena and be happy, but I just couldn't end it then, I needed to keep it going and I felt that I needed to add more to Elena's story, because she is a character that I was surprised to find out was so enjoyable to write! **

**Thank you all so so much! **

**I have decided that I am going to go ahead with the sequel idea, except it won't be a complete continuation, instead it will be a load of one shots flashing into random points of Damon and Elena's life. They won't be in chronological order, and some of them will probably not even be important, but I've already made a start to it and am enjoying writing their future lives together.**

**So please look out for it! I will be posting it sometime this week, and it will be called:**

_**Feel This Moment **_


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